Spinach Soup Recipe

This low calorie spinach soup is one of the delicious ways, one can enjoy the healthy goodness of spinach leaves. It is a creamy and filling soup made with baby spinach, potato, carrot, onion and garlic. I have used homemade vegetable stock in this soup which makes it all the more nutritious and flavorful. The soup is vegan, gluten-free and freshly ground black pepper is used as a flavoring agent. Potato and carrot make the soup thick and creamy and so no cornflour or any other artificial thickener is added to the soup. Caramelized onions impart a very distinct and mildly sweet taste to the soup. This warm and comforting soup is a perfect treat on winter evenings with some croutons or garlic bread.

With the onset of winters, different variety of soups and rasams are a regular affair at my place especially during evenings. Winter soups are not only warm and comforting but they also soothe the sore throat and extremely helpful when you suffering from cold and cough. Soups with homemade vegetable stock are filling and nutritious and yes flavorful as well. I prefer making soup with fresh ingredients in small batches sufficient for single use.

What goes into this Spinach Soup?

This spinach soup is my mom's recipe and it is a hit at my place. Carrot and potato chunks are boiled and pureed along with blanched spinach. A little vegetable stock is used while making the puree. The puree is then sieved to get rid of the fibrous threads of spinach if any and also to make the soup smooth. Little oil is heated and minced garlic is sauteed well. Onions are caramelized with little sugar. The spinach puree is then added along with vegetable stock and allowed to boil for few minutes. The soup is seasoned with black pepper and salt and served.

Baby Spinach leaves : The first and obvious ingredient of this soup is fresh spinach leaves. I have used baby spinach here. You may use any variety that is available. 2 cups of tightly packed spinach leaves are used in this recipe which makes 4 servings. Spinach leaves add nutrition and give the soup its lush green color. I blanch the spinach leaves in boiling water for just 2-3 minutes and immediately transfer it to a bowl of ice cold water before grinding it to a puree. This step helps in retaining the bright green color of spinach.

Carrot and Potato: Carrot and potato both add texture to the soup making it thick and creamier. I have boiled and pureed 1 small sized carrot and potato along with blanched spinach in this recipe.

Garlic cloves: I like the the flavor of garlic in this spinach soup. 3-4 minced or chopped garlic is sauteed and used in this soup.

Onion: 1 medium size onion is caramelized with little sugar and it definitely adds to the flavor of the soup. Caramelized onions also give a soft bite to the soup which we like.

Black Pepper and salt : This spinach soup is seasoned with freshly pound black pepper and salt.

Vegetable Stock: I always prefer adding homemade vegetable stocks to my soups over plain water or store bought ones. In fact i always keep a jar of vegetable stock handy in my refrigerator. It makes the soup more nutritious and flavorful plus it tastes far better than the store bought ones and best part it is easy on your pocket.

Oil: Very minimal oil is used in this soup. 2 teaspoon of oil is used which is enough to saute the garlic and onion. If you do not have any dietary restriction, use 1-2  teaspoon ghee or butter instead of oil.

SoupyWinter@HealthyWealthyCuisines:

When Swaty who blogs at FoodTrails proposed Winter Soups as the theme for our Facebook Gourmet group, Healthy Wellthy Cuisines, i knew i will be sharing this Spinach soup recipe for the event, SoupyWinters@HW. Participating bloggers share recipes on this group every fortnightly on pre-decided themes. Meanwhile do check out swaty's space for some interesting and delicious recipes both from regional and international cuisines. 

You may find the contributions by my fellow bloggers on this theme  interesting . Take a look. 

• Caldo Verde by Archana
• Mutton Soup for babies by Narmadha
• Yellow Peas Soup by Sasmita
• Vegetarian Nacho Soup by Swaty
• Tomato Soup by Ruchi

                                

                           

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 2 cups, tightly packed spinach leaves
• 1 small carrot, washed peeled and chopped
• 1 small potato, washed, peeled and chopped
• 1 medium onion
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoon oil
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. In a pan take 2 cups of water. Add peeled and chopped potato and carrot to it and cover cook for 4-5 minutes on medium flame. Insert a fork or knife into the boiled chunks to check for doneness. The veggies should be soft on cooking.

2. Remove the cooked potato and carrot pieces and transfer them to a grinder jar. To the same pan add the washed spinach leaves and cook uncovered for 2-3 minutes or until the leaves begin to wilt.

3. Put off the flame and remove the blanched spinach using a slotted ladle and transfer to a bowl of ice cold water. This step ensures the lush green color of spinach is retained. Once the leaves have cooled down, put them in the grinder jar along with boiled potato and carrot.

4. Add little vegetable stock also to the grinder and grind to get a smooth puree.

5. You may use the puree directly in the soup or strain it through a fine soup strainer to get rid of the fibrous threads of spinach if any.

6. Now heat oil in a pan and add chopped or minced garlic to it. Saute the garlic until it turns light golden and there is no more raw smell. Add chopped onions and a teaspoon of sugar  to it. Stir fry the onions till them get caramelized. Do not brown them.

7. Add spinach puree followed by vegetable stock to it and give a good stir. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste and allow it to boil on medium flame for 4-5 minutes and put off the flame.

8. Serve the Spinach soup warm with garlic bread or croutons . You may add little cream or butter while serving the soup if you wish to.

Recipe Notes:

• To make an easy one pot vegetable stock at home i simply add chopped veggies like carrots, onion, garlic, herbs, bay leaf and some black pepper (plus the stalks and trimmings of the veggies in my refrigerator) to a pressure cooker with 4 cups water and pressure cook for 2 whistles and then simmer for 10 minutes. Strain on cooling. Discard the veggies and use the stock as needed. However if you do not have time to make vegetable stock at home you may use store bought one or simply add water if it is not handy.
• If you like your soup to be spicy, you may grind 1 green chilly along with spinach. I have not added any. Spice from black pepper is perfect for us.
• I blanch the spinach leaves in boiling water for just 2-3 minutes and immediately transfer it to a bowl of ice cold water before grinding it to a puree. This step helps in retaining the bright green color of spinach.

I hope some of you would love to try out this recipe. If you do so, feel free to share your feedback with us in the form of likes and comments in the comment section below this post. All your suggestions are also more than welcome. If you like my work and feel it is worth following, do hit the follow button at the top right corner of this blog. Your appreciation means a lot to me. For more recipes and new updates follow us on social media.

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