Thursday, November 20, 2008

Watercress and Spinach Soup


Watercress is one of those classic soups that you either love or hate. I'm a lover, but I decided to go slightly different with this one. Rather than the usual onion, I used green onion and added some spinach for extra color and a slightly different flavor.

Watercress and Spinach Soup
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

1/2 cup sliced green onion (or scallion) - white and green parts
2 Tablespoons butter or olive oil
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups diced potato (peeled)
4 ounces watercress - leaves and tender stems only
1 cup frozen chopped spinach (if using fresh, about 1 pound chopped)
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk - any fat content from skim to whole is fine

1. Melt butter in a soup pot. Add green onion and stir briefly.
2. Add stock and potato. Simmer until potato is tender - about 20 minutes.
3. Add watercress, spinach and salt. Simmer for 2 or 3 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and stir in milk.
5. Puree in a blender in small batches. Return to pot and heat through.

10 comments:

Judy@nofearentertaining said...

Looks delicious Anne. The color is incredible!

crpitt said...

What exactly does one mean by a green onion and what type of milk?
Any reason why its frozen spinach?

Is that enough questions to annoy you with?

:)

Thanks for doing this :)

Anne Coleman said...

Judy, Thank you!

Claire - Green onions are a.k.a. scallions. Frozen spinach is just easier and I always use 2% milk, but any fat content is fine. I'll make changes to the post to help you (and others!) out.

crpitt said...

Oh spring onions! Now I know what you mean :)

That is something I haven't tried, so I am excited to try that :)

I also haven't tried it wit milk, just cream so this is a much healthier version.

Olga said...

What an awesome color! And that's a great idea to blog about soup exclusively.

veggie belly said...

Thats a beautiful, healthy looking soup! I love watercress. I usually juice some with an apple or eat it in salad. Ive never had watercress in soup, I'd love to try this! Great recipe!

Anonymous said...

I agree that this is a beautiful color! I have two questions:
Does the flavor of the spinach overpower the watercress? And where can I find watercress, as I have never found a grocery store that carries it (could be because I am in Canada, but one grocer told me that it spoils very quickly).

Anne Coleman said...

Hi, Erik - I found that the flavors were about even - if you're worried about that, you can cut back on the spinach a bit - it's a little thicker than the usual watercress soup, so it won't hurt.

I found watercress in a bag at my grocer - check out www.watercress.com and see if they have a store locater there.

Anne Coleman said...

Olga and Veggie - thank you for your comments and thanks so much for stopping by!

food makes me happy said...

I'm so glad I stumbled upon your blog!
My swollen gum (wisdom tooth popping out) has been causing a big pain these days, and I've been craving for soup.
Well, cz I can't eat anything else!
Love love your blog!