Spinach soup

The basic recipe is one of Rose Elliot’s, somewhat altered to suit the realities of the sailing life. Spinach is a great and versatile vegetable, when you can get hold of it. Its close relatives, such as Swiss chard or curly kale, can nearly always be substituted for the Real Thing. Sometimes the stalks are a bit tough – the easiest way to test this is to bite a piece off and see how stringy it is when raw. If they seem too much of a good thing, cut them out and just use the leaves. Not infrequently, spinach is sold in large packs and unless you happen to be somewhere cool, it will not keep for more than two or three days. This soup is a good way to finish off spinach, because as with most soups, more or less of one ingredient does not ruin the overall dish.

 

Use 1/3 seawater to 2/3 fresh, if the sea is clean, and leave out the salt.

 

Serves 2 as a main meal, 4 – 6 as a starter

 

 Ingredients

 

1 tbsp butter OR olive oil

1 large potato, peeled and chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

A bunch of spinach – about 450 g (1 lb)

4 cups of water

1 tbsp lime or lemon juice

salt and pepper

nutmeg

 

Method: 

• Peel and chop the potato; chop the onion and garlic. 
• Heat the butter or oil in a large pan and add the potato and onion. Cook for about 5 minutes, but don’t let them brown. 
• Meanwhile, coarsely chop the spinach. Throw this into the pan and turn it with the other vegetables. Pour in the water and bring to the boil. 
• Reduce the heat until the mixture is just simmering; cover and cook for 15 – 20 minutes. 
• Take out a piece of potato and check that it’s thoroughly cooked. If it’s of a floury type, it should be crumbling away. 
• When the potato is thoroughly softened, mash the soup with a potato masher , until it’s thickened. You will be left with bits of onion and spinach floating around, but that’s all right. If you prefer use a stick blender to purée the soup.
  
• Season carefully with salt and pepper; add a very generous grating of nutmeg and stir in the lime juice before serving. 

Variations: 

• This soup’s character can be completely transformed by adding a 400 g /14 oz tin of tomatoes, 1/2 tsp cumin and 1/2 tsp coriander. 
• If potatoes are unavailable, a sweet potato could be substituted. 
• Instead of a potato, use one or two plantains and stir in a tbsp of curry powder/paste. 
• Use canned spinach.
  
• Try serving with a dollop of yoghurt – especially if you’ve made the elegant, liquidised version