With
the weather getting colder and my allergies starting to bother me already, I
have been on a soup kick. Those of you who have been following HMHB already
know I like to post a lot of soup recipes here- they’re easy and flexible and
you can make enough for plenty of leftovers. I recently made batches of borscht and lentil soup, but also decided to try out this great new green
soup that I found a recipe for in my favorite magazine, Eating Well.
I
ended up just basing it off of the recipe I found, firstly because I did not
have Arborio rice on hand and didn’t feel like going out to get any, and
secondly because when I went to blend up the spinach like the recipe calls for,
after I turned the blender on I discovered in the messiest of ways that there
was a huge crack on the side of it! I’m sure you can just imagine the mess that
was made all over my kitchen counter and floor. There was quite a bit of
clean-up indeed…
So,
rather than starting from scratch and abandoning my soup, I did what I could
with what I had left, and it came out pretty good! It was my first time
caramelizing onions too! So here it goes:
Spinach
and Lemon Soup
12
oz package of spinach
4
cups vegetable broth
2
cups water
1
medium yellow onion, chopped
2
tbsp olive oil
1
tsp + ¼ tsp salt
1
tsp cayenne pepper
Juice
of 1 lemon + extra wedges for garnish
To
caramelize the onions: Sautee the onion in the olive oil in skillet over medium
heat with ¼ tsp salt. Cook and stir frequently until it browns, then lower heat
and add 2 tbsp water and cover. Cook onion, stirring frequently and then just
occasionally, allowing the pan to cool and then heat up again after stirring,
always covering pan again. Basically, continue to do this until onions turn a
deep caramel color and are greatly reduced for about 25-30 minutes.
When
onions are ready, toss in the spinach and stir-fry it with the onions for about
2 minutes, then add the broth and water. Stir in the remaining salt and
cayenne; adjust to your tastes if needed. The tsp of cayenne will make it nice
and spicy, but not too hot, so if you want it hotter add more. Bring it all to
a boil then bring back down to a simmer and add the lemon juice. Serve right
away with some whole-wheat buns or rolls. I had a whole-wheat English muffin
with mine and it tasted really good dipped right into the spinach! Add more
lemon and olive oil for garnish if desired.
And
there you have it- very simple and probably even sounds a little boring, but
the combination of the cayenne and lemon with the spinach and broth was way
more amazing than I’d thought it was going to be. I’m really excited to get a
new blender now and try the Eating Well recipe that includes Arborio rice and
chard.
I
use spinach in many things I cook due to it being full of nutrition and also
being so incredibly versatile. Just throw it in with just about anything you
can think of and you are adding a large amount of iron, manganese, folate, and
vitamins A, C and K with a rich yet delicate green taste. Spinach pairs great
with chicken and white fish, and goes great in just about any soup. Enjoy fresh
baby spinach with beets and mandarin oranges for a healthy and fruity salad;
make a delicious green smoothie with fruit and yogurt; add it to
stir-fries with tofu for a healthy vegetarian dinner.
Going
organic when it comes to spinach is a good idea as well. Spinach has become
notorious for being one of the top 12 produce items with the most pesticide
residue found on it, even after repeated washing. Since the leaves are so
delicate and tasty to insects, they are coated with extra pesticide to ward off
pesky pests- pesticides that leak directly into the spinach itself.
The
Environmental Working Group releases a list of the “Dirty Dozen”, which
is a list of produce that contains the largest amounts of pesticides each year.
The list contains mainly delicate fruits like blueberries and leafy vegetables
that you don’t peal, and other veggies you don’t peal for that matter like
peppers. It also has a list of the items with the least amount of pesticides. Print this list out so you can bring it with you to the supermarket and
know what to buy conventional and save your money, and what to buy organic and
save your health!
Save this recipe for when you're in a pinch on a cool night, or for your next Meatless Monday! Or, make tonight meatless, or any day for that matter :)
Healthy and tasty sugar-free cookies and crock-pot tomato sauce recipes coming soon!
