Soups & stews
Creamed spinach or chard soup with cheese croutons
This smooth, creamy soup can be made in less than half an hour. To save even more time, the croutons can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container. Adding some of the leaves at the last minutes keeps the soup a lovely bright green.
Cook's notes
We've used Parmesan in this recipe but if you are vegetarian you can use an alternative. Good vegetarian Parmesan can be difficult to get hold of; vegetarian Pecorino is often tastier.
Ingredients
- 1 litre chicken or veg stock
- 1 medium potato, peeled and diced
- 40g butter or 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 400-500g spinach, washed, trimmed of tough stalks and chopped
- 200ml milk
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- juice of ½ a lemon
- ½ a ciabatta loaf, preferably stale, cut into small cubes
- 15g Parmesan, grated
- 4 tbsp double cream or sour cream, to serve
- salt and pepper
Method
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Step 1
Bring the stock to a simmer and add the potatoes. Cook for 20 minutes or until the potato is soft.
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Step 2
Meanwhile heat the butter or oil in a separate pan. Add the garlic, stir briefly and add the chopped spinach or chard. Cover and cook for a few minutes until the leaves are wilted.
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Step 3
Add half the leaves and the milk into the stock pan and bring back to the boil. If using chard cook for a further 5 minutes. Put the soup through a sieve or colander to separate liquid and vegetables. Return the liquid to the pan. Add the reserved spinach or chard to the cooked vegetables and purée them in a blender or processor.
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Step 4
Return blended vegetables to the stock and reheat. Season well. Add the nutmeg and lemon juice to taste. Make the croutons by gently frying the cubed bread in the olive oil until golden. Remove from pan, sprinkle with Parmesan and grill for a couple of minutes.
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Step 5
Drain on kitchen paper. Serve swirled with cream or soured cream, sprinkled with croutons.
