Tuesday, January 10, 2006

5-a-day: Spinach-Mushroom Soup

If its Tuesday, it must be ARF/5-a-day over at Sweetnicks! Today, I am playing along with a nourishing soup that wraps you with comfort like a warm fuzzy scarf.
Spinach and Mushrooms are quickly cooked into a simple soup. A little bit of butter, cheese and milk go a long way in making this soup taste rich and flavorful. It is fine to use fresh or frozen spinach in this recipe. I often find that mature spinach tastes gritty and unpleasant to me, so I am going with baby spinach which has a milder taste.

Spinach Mushroom Soup

(serves 4-6)
spinachsoup
Ingredients:
1 bag baby spinach
1 10-oz package mushrooms (baby bella/white)
2 tbsp butter
1 small onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded cheese (cheddar/monterey jack)
salt and pepper to taste
Method:
1. Heat butter in a large pot. Saute bayleaf, onions and garlic for a couple of minutes until transluscent.
2. Add the flour and stir it around to get it coated in butter.
3. Add 6 cups of water and bring it to a boil.
4. Now add mushrooms and spinach (it will wilt quickly) to the water and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
5. Fish out bay leaf from soup and discard. Using an immersion blender or a regular blender, process the veggies to a thick broth.
6. Season with salt, pepper, oregano and red pepper flakes, if using.
7. Finish the soup with milk and shredded cheese. Continue heating for a minute or two and then serve.

Sweetnicks, thanks for hosting!

9 comments:

  1. looks good and what a co-inky-dinky, we both made soup :)
    am gonna try this one soon.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looks yummy.. gonna try this out for soon...

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am an amateur Indian cook who drifted to your site through Sweetnicks. I have been "eating up" all the great tips and the alphabet. I've added you to my blogroll so that others can do the same!

    Thanks,
    Katherine from toastpoint.blogspot.com.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love how easy this recipe is ... definitely will be trying it soon. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  5. sounds yummy.... shall try it soon

    ReplyDelete
  6. seems yummy, with sankrant coming up and T coming up..how abt tilache ladu :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. mMmMm.. winter comfort food!

    perhaps it would be tastier if you could use evaporated milk. That's what I use when making Mushroom Chicken soup.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hey Bilbo, it certainly is soup season where we both live!

    Hi Tina, I hope it works out well!

    Hi Katherine, I'm so glad you like the alphabet series...we are nearing the end and its been fun :)

    Hi Sweetnicks, thanks for hosting!

    Hi Bhandaris, it really is worth trying for a quick easy supper.

    Hi Mtalpz, thats a great idea! Thanks :)

    Strawberry, thanks for a great tip...evaporated milk would certainly make for a thicker creamier soup.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Dear Tai,
    This soup not only looks great but tastes good too.Its nice to have it on a cold evening.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for leaving a comment- I try to respond to every single one.