Dill Havarti Soup

In my home town there is a little restaurant that serves a great soup that I used to share with my Grandma Donna. She and I both loved it. It was a Dill Havarti Soup. It was light and refreshing even though it was cheese and cream based. The taste of the dill made the soup fresh and it always reminded me of summer. So today I wanted to recreate that beautiful soup.

I haven’t had the soup in a couple of years, but it was a smooth creamy soup. I wanted a little texture in mine so I didn’t blend it. I also added some potato.

Dill Havarti Soup

• 6 slices of bacon
• 1 quart of chicken stock
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 milk
• 1 medium onion
• 1/2 pound of potatoes
• 6 tbs fresh dill
• 8oz havarti cheese
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3 tbs flour
• salt
• pepper

The first step is to preheat a dutch oven on medium/high on your stovetop.

Next slice up the bacon into pieces.

Place the sliced bacon into the dutch oven and cook till it is browned.

While the bacon is cooking, dice the onions, garlic and potatoes.

Remove the bacon, making sure to leave the grease.  Place the diced onion into the pan.

When the onion starts to turn translucent add the garlic and saute for a couple of minutes.

Add the cup of dry white wine to the pan to deglaze it. Make sure to scrape up the bacon bits on the bottom.  Also make sure to use a white wine that you would like to drink.  Basically add 1 cup to the pan and pour 1 cup for yourself.  Honestly, you deserve it.

Once the pan is deglazed add the chicken stock.  If you have homemade this is best, but I was in a hurry and purchased mine.  If you can’t find stock, chicken broth will work just fine.

Now add the sliced potatoes and the dill.

Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.  Cook till the potatoes are tender.  This should take about 15-20 minutes.

After the 15 minute mark, mix the milk and the flour together.  I find that a coffee cup and a fork work best for this.  Stir until the flour is fully incorporated into the milk.

When the potatoes are tender add the cream and the flour/milk combination to the pan.  Raise the heat to medium and cook until the mixture starts to thicken.  Make sure to stir frequently.

While the soup thickens cut the havarti cheese into smaller chunks.  This will help it melt easier.

When the soup thickens, remove the pan from the heat and add the havarti cheese.  Stir until the cheese if fully melted. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the bacon and some fresh dill.

It is also nice to serve this with a nice chunk of french bread and a glass of white wine.

This soup totally reminds me of the soup that my Grandma and I used to share.  It is light, refreshing, and screams summertime.

I hope that you guys get a chance to try this recipe.