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Prep Time: 35 Minutes Cook Time: 20 Minutes |
Ready In: 55 Minutes Servings: 5 |
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This is a rich, delicious creamy soup I first saw this prepared on Come Dine with Me where ironically the hostess who cooked in the episode had this soup made by local restaurant instead of preparing it herself. The restaurant is the Blanche House Hotel, in Brighton England. I tried it right away and here is my adaptation, with a lot more detail to the instructions. The prep time allows for cooling, and the cook time is really an estimate. This soup was meant to be served as a starter, so the portions are rather small. Ingredients:
250 g fresh baby spinach leaves, rinsed and shaken mostly dry (1 bag) |
400 ml whole milk |
salt, to taste |
2 shallots, peeled, halved |
1 garlic clove, peeled |
300 ml heavy cream |
pepper, to taste |
nutmeg, freshly grated, to taste |
Directions:
1. Put on a pan of water to boil while you prepare your spinach. Have ready a bowl of ice water and a colander.
2. When the water is ready,add a pinch of salt, then blanch the spinach for about 20 seconds in the boiling water.
3. Immediately strain the spinach through a colander and set into a bowl of ice water, to stop it cooking.
4. Now get out two small saucepans, one for milk, the other for cream.
5. In one pan, add just the milk and reduce it by half,being careful not to allow to burn, stirring often.
6. In the other pan,add the cream with shallots (left whole but peeled) and garlic(peeled and cut into halves) and heat just to a simmer, then remove from the heat and allow to steep for about 30 minutes.
7. Strain out the shallots and garlic (discard them) from the cream and also drain the spinach well. Make sure the milk and cream are both cooled slightly before you continue.
8. Put spinach and cream in blender, bledn, then slowly add the milk and continue blending.
9. Once smooth, pass through a sieve and season with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg to taste. You should end up with a smooth, pale mint green colored creamy soup.
10. Serve chilled or heated over very low heat to just warm (I served mine heated).
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