This weeks post is tasty Spinach soup, a simple very quick delicate and visually attractive way to warm your cockles and sigh aahhh afterwards.
There is not much you can write on the origins of spinach soup but I will give it a go. Spinach first appeared in the region of Persia some two thousand years ago, migrating to Europe with the Saracens to Italy and Spain in the ninth century C.E. after they had successfully finished conquering Persia and northern India.
Spinach as we all know is super healthy and has been identified as one of the foods of choice by a particular cartoon super hero since the 1920s. Popeye the sailor man was a significant figure for some of us more dated types and one fondly remembered from our childhoods.
Popeye regularly poured canned spinach down his gullet giving himself super human strength to save his perennial damsel in distress (Olive) from whatever dangers she got herself into.
Spinach is rich in Iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, B6, B9 and vitamin E and much much more. It is said Spinach is a super food shoring up our natural defences against all that ails you. The traditional saying of “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” should really have been a bunch of spinach a day keeps the sun shining and you making hay.
Spinach in soup form is simply delish.
Spinach Soup
Ingredients: to make two litres
- Fresh washed Spinach x 800 grams
- Medium onion peeled and chopped x 1
- Garlic teeth x 2
- Celery stalk chopped x 2
- Medium carrot peeled and cubed small x 1
- Medium potato peeled and cubed small x 2
- Hot chilli pepper Fresh or dried
- Zest of one lemon
- Cumin x 1 tea spoon
- Water or vegetable or Chicken stock x 2 litre
- Salt & pepper to taste.
- Olive oil
Method:
Heat a saucepan on the stove add oil, when hot add onion a little salt and pepper and reduce heat, stir for a couple of minutes until the onions start to clarify, then add garlic and chilli pepper alight shake if using chilli flakes and if using fresh diced pepper, remove all the seeds and scrap most of the flesh from the inside.
You can save some of the scraped flesh to add later if not hot enough. Stir for a minute add cumin, celery, carrot and stir, add spinach leaves, sauté for a minute then add liquid, when boiling add cubed potato and zest of lemon, reduce heat a little cook for 10 minutes or until carrots and potato are soft.
Remove from gas, remove half of the liquids (we do this to ensure control of the thickness of the soup) then grind smooth using a stick grinder or place the soup mass in a food processor and blend. If too thick slowly add back from the removed liquids until you get your desired thickness. Taste for salt pepper and lemon, add a few drops of juice if needed.
Ladle into bowls and drizzle a little quality olive oil over the top.
This past week the Jewish world celebrated its New Year, saying goodbye to an unusual 5781 and looking forward to a better 5782. Have a happy and sweet Jewish new year (6th September).
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