This Cream of Spinach Soup is one of my husband’s favorites. I have incorporated brown rice and potatoes, so it stands alone as a meal. If you want to serve it as a first course, just eliminate the rice and it won’t be quite as filling. I also top it with crumbled bacon and chopped hard-boiled egg – I guess I could have called it “Cream of Spinach Salad Soup.”
Cream of Spinach Soup
4 cups fresh spinach leaves — thoroughly rinsed
4 strips bacon, fried and crumbled — with 2 tablespoons bacon grease reserved
1 shallot, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 celery stalk, sliced
1 Yukon Gold potato, diced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dry White wine
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 dashes Tabasco sauce
4 cups Chicken stock
1/4 cup brown rice
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon mace
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
Crumbled bacon and chopped hard-boiled egg, for garnishing
In a deep skillet fry the bacon until crisp. Remove and drain on paper towels. Reserve the bacon grease. When the bacon is cooled, crumble it.
In a deep stockpot, sauté the shallot, garlic, celery and potato in 3 tablespoons of the bacon grease for approximately 10 minutes. Deglaze with the white wine when necessary to remove the browned bits accumulating in the pan.
When the veggies are golden brown, sprinkle 1 tablespoon flour over them and mix well. Pour in 2 cups of the Chicken stock, the Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce and the spinach; cover the pot and cook for 10 minutes over low heat. Remove from the heat and let the soup cool.
When cooled, ladle the soup into a food processor and blend for 1-2 minutes — until smooth.
Return the soup to the stockpot and add the remaining 2 cups of Chicken stock, 1/4 cup rice, cream, mace, salt and pepper (be careful not to over salt – the soup will be already salty from the bacon grease).
Simmer, uncovered over medium low heat for 45-50 minutes, until the rice is cooked and the soup is thick — not a full boil–just a slow, steady boil.
When you’re ready to serve, garnish with crumbled bacon and chopped hard-boiled egg.
Cheers!
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