Blending your greens

On a Sunday afternoon last month with the late winter sun shining through into the kitchen and the sound of Cat Stevens 1970 comeback album Tea for the Tillerman with its clean, finger-picked  acoustic guitar notes seeping out of the stereo I set about making soup for tea. I chose this time round to make a spinach soup.

I first took two large red potatoes, peeled them and then cut them into cubes. I next washed the dirt out of two leeks, topped and tailed them, removed their outer layers and then sliced them length ways. The pieces of leek were then cut into five parts each so as they could cook quicker and be blended without damaging the blender. The pieces of leek and potato were then placed into my trusty Le Creuset dish and fried on the hob in olive oil for ten minutes on a medium heat.

While the potato and leek were slowly frying I washed one pound of spinach and boiled up the kettle to make a pint and a half of vegetable stock using hot water and two vegetable stock cubes. After the leek and potato had fried for ten minutes I added the stock and spinach to them together with a tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon, a teaspoon of nutmeg and a teaspoon of black pepper. I next brought the mixture to the boil and left it to simmer for about thirty-five minutes to ensure the ingredients were cooked fully and the stock and seasoning had soaked into the vegetables. You will see if you try this recipe that although there is a lot of spinach it shrinks quickly when cooked and will easily fit into the dish.

To finish off I left the mixture to cool for five minutes and then blended it and reheated it in a large pan. The soup itself is a khaki green colour when blended that isn't dissimilar to the spinach Popeye used to eat in the cartoons. To taste it is slightly bitter as a result of the lemon, nutmeg and pepper but the potato, leek and spinach give it a substance that rewards repeated helpings.