Cheese soup popular in French cuisine quickly and firmly established itself in prestigious restaurants and cafes in the CIS for a long time.
At the beginning of its distribution in the post-Soviet space, approximately in the second half of the last century, in almost every institution, French cheese julienne soup with chicken, served in cocktails, proudly and without embarrassment was positioned as a signature dish developed specifically at this enterprise, personally by the chef.
Of course, partly such arrogance can be recognized as true, but this is only partly.
The fact is that according to the general concept of public catering enterprises, without exception, the technology of any dish is developed in accordance with the financial and technical capabilities of each individual enterprise, and this process is controlled, first of all, by a technologist and / or chef. What principles they are guided by when compiling the recipes for each dish is a secondary issue, if not to speak of quality, but the right to invent cream cheese soup is more owned not even by the French, but by the Swiss chefs, because it was in Switzerland at the beginning of the twentieth century processed cheese was invented: in any case, the patent right for the invention of cheese belongs to Switzerland.
The technology for making cheese soup is found in many national cuisines of the world, in different interpretations.
It has long been known that French culinary specialists are famous for the fact that they can create a sensation in world culinary from any dish, own or borrowed. It was thanks to French elegance, sophistication and pathos that soup with cream cheese and chicken, having stayed for a short time on the menu of "serious" catering establishments, organically fit into the diet of home cooking and pretty soon became a familiar and simple meal, which made restaurant professionals at least look for and promote new culinary brands to enhance prestige and box office in their establishments.
Cream cheese and chicken soup - basic technological principles
The best basis for cream cheese soup, of course, is chicken broth, which is considered the basis of dietary foods, although cheese is a high-calorie product, and this category of soups cannot be classified as dietary in terms of their energy saturation. But it is the ease of chicken broth and poultry meat in combination with a very satisfying and dairy product that is the "highlight" of the dish, which has found many of its admirers among gourmets.
To the base, consisting of chicken and cheese, no additions are required anymore: well, except for light “strokes to the portrait,” emphasizing such an impeccable combination of components.
Therefore, among the basic principles for the preparation of cheese soup, only two should be distinguished: preparing the broth and introducing the cheese mass into the liquid base for the soup. If every housewife came across the classic of cooking - cooking meat broth - at least once in a lifetime, then the second basic principle - combining processed cheese with hot liquid - is not familiar to everyone, or at least is in the process of development.
Any cheese has the property to melt under the influence of a temperature close to boiling water or broth. That is, milk proteins, changing the structure, are folded into a dense clot, reminiscent of rubber by consistency. But this can happen if a whole piece of cheese is dipped in boiling water, and then the product can be hopelessly spoiled. Soup can only be saved with a new serving of cheese. If the cheese is crushed and heated gradually, with continuous and intensive stirring, then the milk proteins will have time to combine with the molecules of water and air, before the temperature of their heating reaches a critical point, and as a result a dense homogeneous mass is obtained, sufficiently liquid so that it can be enter into the main part of the broth and evenly dissolve in it. Cheese dressing is prepared on the same principle in milk and even in beer, if there is such a need.
Therefore, the most difficult moment in the preparation of cheese soup needs to be given increased attention, taking up separately brewing cheese dressing, which is then added gradually to the total mass.
After all the main points in the preparation of cheese soup have been observed, it remains only to supplement the dish according to the mood: chicken meat or sausages, legumes or hard cereals, corn, nuts, chopped vegetables - all that culinary ingenuity will tell. Indeed, it is thanks to her that mankind can today enjoy a world-wide variety of dishes.
Recipe 1. Soup with cream cheese and chicken "Marble"
Ingredients:
Cheese paste 200 g
Boiled Chicken Fillet 300 g
Cream, fatty (or sour cream 25%) 150 ml
Onion 50 g
Carrot 100 g
Fat
Greenery
Chicken broth 600 ml
Spice
Cooking:
Chop onions and carrots and season them in a saucepan, first lightly frying in cooking oil, and then add a small amount of broth, spices. Kill the mass with a blender, pour the warmed cream into it and let it boil. Temporarily set aside.
Beat the chicken with a blender, also adding the broth and seasoning with salt and pepper.
Take another small portion of the broth and, heating it to 50-60ºϹ, pour a very thin stream into the cream cheese, while stirring the mass with quick movements with a whisk.
Combine the mashed potatoes with the cheese mass, mix and bring the mixture to a boil. Top up the broth if necessary if the soup is too thick.
When serving, pour the cheese soup into the plates, add the carrot and cream dressing to the center of the plate and use a stick or fork to make several circular movements so that a marbled pattern forms from two thick masses. In the center of the plate, put leaves of fresh herbs.
Recipe 2. Mushroom Soup with Cream Cheese and Chicken
Ingredients:
Fried Mushrooms 150 g (Net)
Chicken Breast 400 g
Passioned onion 100 g
Processed cheese (smoked) 300 g
Spice
1.5 L broth
Parsley, chopped 50 g
Table Margarine 75 g
Cooking:
For soup, use any tubular mushrooms: champignons, ceps, honey mushrooms, chanterelles and others, previously boiled and fried with onion on margarine. It is advisable to cut the mushrooms and chicken breast equally, in shape and size. Slice the boiled chicken pulp and fry on margarine.
Freeze the cheese slightly so that it can be finely grated. Dissolve the cheese crumbs, heating in a small part of the finished chicken broth, then pour the resulting cheese dressing into the bulk, add mushrooms and meat, boil, stirring. Serve with chopped parsley, sprinkling each serving. Use sour cream if desired.
Recipe 3. Cream Cheese Soup with Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients:
Minced meat, chicken 800 g
Onion 200 g
Ground pepper
Dill, fresh 100 g
Broth 2 L
Egg 1 pc.
Cheese 600 g
Cooking:
Prepare meatballs from chicken by adding onions, salt, an egg and spices. Stuffing should be chopped twice and knocked out so that the mass is homogeneous and airy. Cook the prepared meatballs in the broth, seasoning it with spices.
Prepare the cheese dressing as described above and put it into the soup. Bringing to a boil, let it brew. Serve garnished with chopped dill.
Recipe 4. Soup with cream cheese and chicken with a Hawaiian mixture
Ingredients:
Hawaiian Frozen Vegetable Mix 300 g
Boiled Chicken Fillet 0.5 kg
Ready broth 2.2 L
Cheese 400 g
Greenery
Cooking:
The preparation of this soup will take no more than ten minutes, if all of these ingredients are available in prepared form.
Grate the cheese and heat it in 400-500 ml of broth until it melts and thickens. Add the rest of the liquid, toss the chopped meat and frozen vegetables with rice into the pan. Bring the soup to a boil, turn it off. When serving, decorate the plates with fresh chopped herbs.
Recipe 5. Egg Soup with Cream Cheese and Chicken
Ingredients:
4 eggs
Milk (or cream) 250 ml
Green onions
Broth (chicken or mushroom) 1.7 L
Meat (fillet, chicken) 300 g
Champignons 500 g
Garlic 20 g
Butter, ghee 50 g
Parsley roots 30 g
Processed cheese 3x100 g
Ground pepper
Cooking:
Make a cheese dressing for the soup. Heat oil and add chopped parsley roots and garlic to the pan. Fry the boiled pulp by slicing it first with slices. Also fry the mushrooms.
Beat eggs in a lush mass, which mix with milk. Salt.
Prepared meat and mushrooms, together with a thick cheese mass, combine with the main part of the broth and boil to a boil. While stirring the soup, pour in the eggs whipped with milk, without stopping stirring until the brewed strands of protein form. Throw chopped green onions.
Serve with croutons or crackers.
Cream Cheese and Chicken Soup - Tips and Tricks
Cheese soups, unlike other types, after cooling and reheating acquire a more intense taste.
Thick cheese soup should be cooked over low heat so that it does not burn.
Lighter than other cheeses, cheese is dissolved in the broth, forming an air emulsion. It is this cheese that is most often used in Slovak and Czech cuisine. True, the first dishes in these national cuisines are most often fried in bacon. But, if you want, you can experiment with poultry.
