Spinach & nutmeg soup
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Ingredients
800g spinach, 1/2 nutmeg, 1/2 pint vegetable stock |
I love soup. I find all the chopping, stirring and pureeing very soothing, the warm smells that fill the house comforting, and I love ladling out steamy bowls of soup for people to dunk hot crispy bread into, dressing it with ever more creative croutons or swirls of cream and yoghurt. This winter I have created 10 new soups to warm you through on a cold day. This soup is pure silk - the fabulous texture and subtle flavour of spinach is brought to life with nutmeg and black pepper and better yet it's the quickest soup ever to make and is virtually fat free too!
1) Pour the vegetable stock into a stock pot or a wok - anything large enough to stir the 800g of spinach before it reduces - and add the spinach.
2) Stir continually on a medium heat until the spinach has wilted completely - about 10 minutes - and then strain the spinach from the stock.
3) Puree the spinach thoroughly in a blender and then add back to the stock.
4) Stir in about half of a freshly grated nutmeg (don't ever bother with the powdered stuff - it tastes and smells of nothing!) with half a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper to season.
Now it's ready to serve - if you wish you can add salt but I genuinely think that this dish benefits from the clean flavour of spinach, there will be more than enough enough seasoning in the vegetable stock.
