Hungry Hungry Hungarian Apple Soup

Hungarian Apple Soup and Lynfred Winery’s Vin De City White: 4/5

Lynfred Winery’s Vin De City White: 58/100

With a not so stellar experience with Lynfred Winery’s Vin De City Red, I was hesitant to try the Vin De city White. Now all things considered, Illinois does not have the climate to produce a note worthy red, right now it’s 11 degrees, with sub zero winds. But a great white wine can be produced in a colder climate, so I held a glimmer of hope for my second pairing.

Having to work during the day yesterday, trudging through the icy weather to and from work, there was no way I was going to leave the house twice to make a special trip to the grocery store. So I was faced with the dilemma of dinner upon rolling out of bed. Since Shelbey and Zach, my veggie friends, were coming for dinner, I had the added task of finding something vegetarian friendly.

After flipping through Better Homes and How to Cook Everything with no avail, I hit the internet, google searched “ best vegetarian winter recipes”, and landed on Hungarian Apple Soup (http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/hungarian_apple_soup.html). Chalked full of nutritious apples and veggies, I even found a reviewer who swapped sweet potatoes for the yukon gold. Sounded interesting, but apples, onions, sweet potatoes and sage? Would they all go together.

Hesitating a moment, I decided to give it a shot. After a short shift at work, and a quick pit stop at the grocery store, I was back in the comfort of my home, watching slow moving tendrils of steam rise off neighboring high rises. I think I’m ready for spring.

Just as allspice and nutmeg make meatballs Swedish, the Hungarian element in this soup is paprika. Probably Hungary’s number one exported spice, Paprika is made from various dried peppers similar to chili powder or cayenne pepper. Dependent on the pepper used, paprika can be very spicy or slightly sweet—my paprika was a medium red color, and not too spicy. As with any spice, you can always add more, but it’s harder to take away, so taste as you go.

Described as having aromas of toasty apple and pear, I thought if anything would enhance the flavors of the wine, an apple soup would do the trick. Corking the bottle, I was met with an upfront aroma of apple, and surprisingly no burning sensation of ethanol. Maybe their was hope after all. Letting the wine chill, I headed back to the soup.

The recipe above only makes two servings, but is very easily doubled. After a good 10 minutes of peeling and chopping, the bulk of the work was done. Simmering in a bath of vegetable stock the smell of sage and paprika ransacked my nostrils and caused Shelbey to question what was cooking from the sofa. Putting my nose close to the soup, the sweetness of the apple and onion melded with the sage, producing an intoxicating aroma almost good enough to bottle.

When I made tomato soup a couple weeks back, I told you about my immersion blender, well this was another excuse to use it. Now a regular blender would work just fine, but there would be the chance that you would spill hot soup all over yourself and your kitchen, so having an apparatus to put into the pot just seems safer and cleaner. If you like your soup extra smooth I recommend passing it through a sieve to eliminate any inconsistencies.

To accompany the soup I warmed some pita bread with a bit of olive oil in a pan, giving the dish a further European flair. After adding the sour cream the soup took on a muted orange color, very pretty against white porcelain. Finishing the bowl off with a dollop of sour cream and a pinch of fresh parsley, the presentation looked almost professional, if I do say so myself.

Pouring a glass, I was surprised by the wine’s slightly brown canary color, hopefully created by the oak, and not by oxidation. Giving a swirl, the legs streaked down the sides of my glass instead of breaking apart into beads—a positive sign. Bringing the glass to my nose I was met with the aroma of ripe crab apple, with an slight hint of pear and lemon, much more indicative of the mid-west, than the red wine’s black cherry. Swishing around a mouthful, I was overcome with an overwhelming bitterness, but a left with a lingering apple finish.

Taking a spoonful of soup, the warm liquid coated my palate with a unobtrusive sweetness, and a underlying earthly herb flavor from the sage. Comparable to a pumpkin soup, or squash soup, the apple flavor was not the star of the dish, but contributed to the overall balance. Not to salty, or spicy, the soup was thick enough to feel substantial as a vegetarian entree. If I make the soup again I will probably add another apple to see if the over all effect is any different.

Trying another sip of wine, the over all effect was much less bitter, due to the sweetness of the soup. The apple flavors of the wine evoked the apples in the soup, and left a pleasant aftertaste. Although I would have to say the wine was a bit unbalanced, when paired with the soup the overall effect was enjoyable.

Shelbey, Zach, and Michael all loved the soup, but Shelbey traded the rest of her wine for a cup of coffee. Unfortunately, with all of the award winning wines that Lynfred Winery has in their portfolio, the Vin De City White and Vin De City Red were not very notable. Retailing at $10.00 a bottle, you are better off finding a bottle of Barefoot on sale. I’m anxious to try some other selections from the winery, and maybe when I make it out there when the weather is warmer, I will sing a different tune, but for right now, I will continue to search for the next Perfect Pair.