Leek Apple Goat Cheese Soup

People. This Leek, Apple Goat Cheese Soup is mmm mmm good. Also, extra points to those who get the commercial reference. Sometimes winter soups can be hearty. Sometimes Winter soups can be dreary. In any case, the apple and goat cheese in this soup brightens it up big time and just makes me smile. Consequently, no sad dreary soup here today.

I found this Leek Apple Goat Cheese Soup recipe in a German cooking magazine. When I follow recipes, I usually go off the rails at some point, improvising with different ingredients.

For this version, I substituted parsnip for the celery root. Additionally, I added more than the specified amount of goat cheese. Also, my Apple Leek Goat Cheese Soup recipe below yielded more than the four servings stated in the German version. Instead, it makes more like six to eight. I don’t know how that happened. Luckily, this soup freezes well.

Sorry. Not sorry.

However, it was a kitchen miracle I shared with friends at dinner. Also, I gave some away to a neighbor and froze hoarded the rest.

Clean your leeks!

A word about cleaning the leeks. Whenever I use them in a recipe, 98% of them contain dirt. So make sure you cut off the ends, separate the leaves and rinse them individually. Check each layer carefully. Dirt in soup never hurt anyone. However, I cannot vouch how it will affect the flavor of this particular Apple Leek Goat Cheese soup.

To top the soup, apple slices are fried in butter with marjoram. However, It is hard to find fresh marjoram in the winter. I am a big fan of the fresh and grow it in my garden. However, I used dried and it worked perfectly. Lay a few sliced of the marjoram scented fried apple on top of each soup serving. Crumble some goat cheese on top and sprinkle with nutmeg. Wow.

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Leek Apple Goat Cheese Soup

Course Soup

Cuisine American, German

Keyword Leek Soup

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Servings 6

Author Lora Wiley-Lennartz

Ingredients

• 2 lbs leeks
• 1 onion
• 10 oz parsnips
• 2 large white potatoes
• 2 apples
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon dried or fresh chopped marjoram
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup goat cheese, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons cold crumbled goat cheese
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• A few pinches of ground nutmeg

Instructions

1. Trim and clean the leeks then cut them into rings.
2. Peel the onion, parsnips, and potatoes and cut the flesh into small pieces.
3. Peel and core one of the apples and cut into small pieces.
4. In a large pot, melt two tablespoons of butter.
5. Add the onions and sauté until transparent.
6. Add the leeks, parsnips, potatoes and apple pieces. Stir to coat and combine.
   
7. Stir fry everything for about 3 minutes.
8. Add the vegetable broth to the pot and bring to a boil.
9. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for 30 minutes.
10. Peel, core and quarter the second apple. Cut each quarter into slices, lengthwise.
11. In a pan, melt the remaining tablespoon of butter.
12. Add the apple slices and fry until golden brown.
13. Season with the marjoram. Remove from heat and set aside.
14. Add the 1/2 cup of goat cheese to the large pot. Stir until the goat cheese is almost melted.
    
15. Use a hand blender to puree the soup. Alternately, transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and puree. Then return the mixture to the pot over medium heat.
16. Add the heavy cream to the pot and stir to combine. Cook over low heat for another 3 minutes.
17. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
18. Sprinkle the nutmeg into the soup.
19. Ladle the soup out into bowls.
20. Garnish with the apple slices. Crumble the rest of the goat cheese over the tops.
21. If you like, sprinkle some additional ground nutmeg and marjoram over everything before serving.

Like this Leek Apple Goat Cheese Soup? try some of these other delicious winter soup recipes: