Meal Twenty Eight - Cream of Spinach Soup

This one is a favourite of mine, that as I'm trawling through the soup recipe book, I feel I have to share with you.

I'm not the world's biggest fan of coconut - but this works. It seems to blend perfectly with the iron rich spinach and best of all, this is possibly the easiest soup of the 400!

The recipe asks for 50ml of coconut cream. Ignore it, use practically the entire carton and it still won't overpower the dish. This balanced with the right amount of salt and good grinding of black pepper will have you going back for seconds.

Ingredients:

25g butter

1 small onion, chopped

675g fresh spinach, chopped

2 pints vegetable stock or bouillon

50ml coconut cream (adjust to taste - I go for the full 250ml)

freshly grated nutmeg

250ml single cream

salt and ground black pepper

fresh chopped chives to garnish (if available)

Method:

1. Melt the butter in a pan over a moderate heat and sauté the onion for a few minutes until soft. Add the spinach, cover the pan and gently cook for approximately 10 minutes until the spinach has wilted and reduced.

2. Pour the spinach mixture into a blender or food processor and add a little of the hot stock. Blend until smooth.

3. Return the mixture to the pan and add the coconut cream, with salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste. Simmer for 15 minutes to thicken.

4. Add the single cream to the pan and heat through being careful not to boil. Serve hot, garnished with the chives.

5. Add a dollop of crème fraiche in the middle of the bowl and stir through for a nice little effect.