The German Kitchen

(German version below.)

This is a great comfort soup that is very forgiving as far as substitutions. Our 5 year old loves this soup, but beware the fat content!

Difficulty: simple
Preparation Time: 35 minutes
Portions: 6

Ingredients:

• 1 pound, ground meat (I usually use turkey, but meatloaf mix is closer to the mix our German relatives use, and I have also used beef in a pinch.)
• 1 medium onion
• 5 bunches of leek (I have also used scallions instead, with no drastic taste change)
• 2 cans, mushrooms OR 2 cups of fresh mushrooms
• 2 Liters of broth, beef or vegetable works best
• 2 c. of Velveeta, or similar type of cheese product

Preparation:

1. Saute onion in big pot (Dutch oven, or similar size). You can use butter, margarine or oil, as per your personal taste.
2. When onion is golden, add in meat and brown. Drain off oil.
3. Mix in chopped leeks or scallions and cook for 2 – 3 minutes.  Add the broth (you can also use the water from the canned mushrooms as part of your broth content – this gives some extra flavor, and wastes nothing). Mix well.
4. Add in mushrooms.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer covered, for about 20 minutes.
7. Add the cheese into the soup in smaller chunks. Mix constantly. When all of the cheese is melted, remove from heat.
8. Serve immediately with crusty bread.

German version (as received from relatives in Franconia):

• 500 g Hackfleisch
• 1 Zwiebel
• 5 Stangen Lauch
• 2 Dosen Champignons
• 2 L Brühe
• 2 Becher (900 g) Sahneschmelzkäse

1. Hackfleisch in Öl anbraten
2. Zwiebeln und Lauch klein schneiden
3. Champignons zugeben
4. Brühe aufgießen und köcheln lassen
5. Zum Schluss den Sahneschmelzkäse unterrühren
6. mit Salz u. Pfeffer abschmecken

Tags: Franconia, German, recipe, side dish, Soup