Cream of Spinach Soup

This cream of spinach soup will remind of you of a favorite steakhouse side dish, creamed spinach. 

Serve this cream of spinach soup for a delicious first course for dinner instead of a salad. 

The soup is mild flavored, creamy, and elegant. It is thickened with a béchamel (or "white sauce"), one of the French "mother" sauces. It is a roux plus milk to create a creamy sauce often used in mac and cheese and gratin potatoes. 

I remember my mom used to keep cans of Aunt Penny's white sauce in the cupboard to make macaroni and cheese. I'm not sure it still exists, but making your own white sauce is much better, plus you get to call it béchamel. Be sure to add a French accent. 

Cream of Spinach Soup Ingredients:

Spinach - You will need 8 ounces of spinach leaves. I bought the pre-washed packages of baby spinach so I didn't have to stem the larger leaves and then weigh everything, but two bunches of spinach will work too. 

Dairy - You will need butter, milk, and cream. 

Vegetable Stock - I used a combination of water and Better Than Bouillon for the stock. It's a combination of carrots, celery, onions, and tomatoes and so convenient. I also love their meat and seafood bouillons. 

All Purpose Flour - For making the béchamel. 

Onions, Garlic, and Shallots - You will use the shallots and garlic for sautéing the spinach before adding it to the soup base. For the onions, I actually used dried minced onions, which reconstitute in the stock. If you prefer to use fresh onions, substitute one cup of fresh chopped onions to replace 1/4 cup of dried onions. 

Russet Potatoes - These, along with the onions, give this soup a sort of vichyssoise-like texture (there we go with the French accent again). 

Salt and Pepper

How to Make Cream of Spinach Soup:

First, cook the spinach with the garlic and the shallots. You will want to reduce the spinach a handful at a time until all of it has compacted. It's amazing how much spinach reduces. 

Next, prepare the stock with the onions and potatoes. You can use the same pan in which you cooked the spinach. 

While the stock is simmering, prepare the béchamel by cooking flour and butter until it turns a light tan, and then begin adding the milk to the mixture. Once you've prepared the béchamel, begin adding cream to the mixture. 

After that, add the spinach to the stock and bring it to a boil. Add the béchamel mixture, heat, and puree everything with an immersion blender and serve topped with spinach leaves cut into a chiffonade. 

This cream of spinach soup is so good that even kids might even like it, the green color notwithstanding. Perhaps if you tell them that it's Popeye food, they might actually be willing to taste it. Once they do, they will love it. 

You could even use it to make macaroni and cheese! 

This month, the Soup Saturday Swappers are making soups with greens. 

Be sure to check out everyone's soups!

 Soups with Greens Recipes

• Cream of Spinach Soup from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Italian Bean Soup with Greens from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Spicy Red Lentil and Swiss Chard Soup from Sneha's Recipe
• Spring Greens and Potato Chowder from Palatable Pastime
• Vegan Green Goddess Soup from Magical Ingredients

Cream of Spinach Soup

Yield: 8 servings

Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 1 Hour

This cream of spinach soup will remind of you of a favorite steakhouse side dish, creamed spinach.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1 large shallot, minced
• 8 ounces bagged spinach leaves
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/2 cup dried minced onions or onion flakes
• 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch slices
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 cups cream
• 10 spinach leaves, cut into chiffonade

Instructions

1. In a 6 to 8 quart stock pot or Dutch oven, melt one tablespoon of unsalted butter over medium high heat. Add the shallots and cook for about one minute. Add a handful of the spinach and cook until the spinach has wilted. continue to add spinach, by the handful, until all of it has wilted. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper. Transfer the spinach to a collander and set aside to drain.
2. In the same pan, add the vegetable stock, the minced garlic, dried onions, and sliced potatoes. Bring the mixture to a boil, scrape up any fond from the bottom of the pan, reduce it to a simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes. The potatoes should be tender and falling apart.
3. In a 3 quart saucepan, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add the flour and mix well with a wooden spoon. Continue to cook 3 to 5 minutes, until tan. Whisk in the milk into the mixture a little at a time until each addition is incorporated. Bring the mixture to a boil and then lower the heat and cook for five minutes until thick. Raise the heat to medium high and begin adding the cream in half cups and whisk until incorporated. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for an additional 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add the spinach mixture to the broth and potato mixture. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Add the béchamel mixture to the broth and stir completely.
6. Remove the pot from the heat and blend everything with an immersion blender, or blend, in batches, in a stand blender. Optionally, you can strain through a sieve if you like. Add salt and pepper to taste. 
7. Keep the soup over low heat until ready to serve. Top with a spinach chiffonade.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

381.78

Fat (grams)

27.93

Sat. Fat (grams)

17.57

Carbs (grams)

28.21

Fiber (grams)

2.34

Net carbs

25.84

Sugar (grams)

7.66

Protein (grams)

7.17

Sodium (milligrams)

712.05

Cholesterol (grams)

85.84

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2022/03/cream-of-spinach-soup.html

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