Spinach, Kale & Watercress Soup

Spinach, Kale & Watercress Soup

This soup is made using nutrient dense greens – Cavolo Nero or kale, watercress and spinach. Any soup is only as good as the stock used to make it. Whether you choose to use chicken or vegetable stock in this recipe, it is important to use a good, flavoursome one that will compliment the other ingredients. Best of all, make your own stock – it’s incredibly easy and very nutritious: simply take a mixture of base vegetables – carrot, leek, onion, celery – and sweat them gently and slowly in a little olive oil to release their sugars (and therefore their flavour).

You can add other vegetables such as fennel, mushrooms, or even tomatoes to vary the flavour. Add a bay leaf, 1 tsp. of whole peppercorns, and a sprig of thyme; pour over enough cold water to cover the vegetables by 3 inches, bring to the boil, and simmer for 30 minutes. Drain and use. To make chicken stock, add chicken bones, wings, off-cuts or carcasses to the pan a few minutes before you add the vegetables, and then follow the same process, cooking the stock for 2-3 hours.

Serves 2-4

Preparation time 10 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 head of Cavolo Nero or kale
  • 150-200g young spinach, washed
  • Bunch of watercress
  • 2 medium onions, finely diced
  • 1 clove of garlic, finely sliced
  • 1 litre vegetable or chicken stock, preferably homemade
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 25g ghee
  • Sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Pinch of nutmeg, freshly grated

Method:

  1. Remove the outer few leaves of the kale and discard. Cut out the thick central stalks from the remaining leaves, roll them, and finely shred. Chop the spinach and watercress.
  2. Heat a little olive oil in a deep pan and add the ghee. When it begins to foam slightly, add the onion. Sweat for 2-3 minutes before adding the garlic. Sweat for a further 2 minutes.
  3. Add most of the spinach, watercress and kale to the pan, reserving a small amount of each to add at the end – about 1⁄8. Gently sauté until the leaves begin to cook down, and add the stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
  4. Transfer the hot mixture to a blender and blend until smooth. Add the reserved raw leaves and blend until smooth and incorporated – adding the raw ingredients gives a brighter, more vibrant colour and fresh taste to the dish.
  5. Transfer back to the pan to reheat and season well with salt and pepper. Add a pinch of fresh nutmeg before serving.

 

 

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