Ale and Bread Soup inspired by Babette's Feast

Ingredients (serves 4-6) 8 ounces Dark Rye, Rugbrød, or Pumpernickel bread (preferably stale), torn into pieces 16 ounces water 12 ounces Ale (a good, flavorful one) 1/4 cup brown sugar finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon) 1 cinnamon stick to serve (optional): milk/cream and cinnamon-sugar OR assorted cold cuts, pickles, and a salad

Instructions Place the torn bread into a large-medium bowl and pour the water and ale over it; push down to soak it, if needed. Cover and let sit overnight.

The next day, push the mixture through a tamis, if you like. If not, transfer it all to the jar of a blender and puree until smooth.

Pour into a heavy-bottomed pot and add brown sugar, lemon zest and juice, and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil, then lower to a very gentle bubble for 10-15 minutes; it should have the consistency of porridge. Remove cinnamon stick.

Serve warm in bowls with a bit of milk for pouring over and some cinnamon-sugar for shaking on OR serve alongside a plate of cold cuts, pickles, and a salad.

notes: You may want to leave the cinnamon stick out if you'll be serving this porridge alongside savory accopaniments - but I don't think that you have to. It adds dimension.

A tamis is a French sieve like this one. It has an extremely fine mesh. If you don't pass it through a tamis, and instead puree it in a blender, it will simply have a bit more body.

You can use homemade or store-bought bread in this recipe. If using the Dark Rye that I linked to in the ingredient list and going for the version served with cinnamon-sugar, I'd leave the onions out when making it.

#ale #bread #soup #babette