Add Spinach to Soup
If eating healthy is an important lifestyle goal for you, cooking at home increases your ability to use fresh and healthy ingredients. A simple, quick meal you can prepare at home is soup. Enhance the health benefits in a pot of soup by adding spinach, a colorful and nutrient-packed vegetable.
Steps
- Prepare the base. Find a broth or a stock and add any desirable ingredients, such as vegetables, meat and/or seasonings. Some options for the base soup may include vegetable, chicken, beef and fish stock or broth. Begin cooking the pot of soup on medium-low heat on the stovetop.
- Adding spinach to a canned soup is another option.
- Wash the spinach. Before adding fresh spinach to the pot of soup, rinse it thoroughly with cold water and pat dry.
- Pay attention to any dirt or debris that may be attached to the spinach. Remove any wilted, sagging or yellow leaves, and take off any rough stems.
- Cut the spinach. On a clean, smooth cutting board with a sharp knife, give the spinach a rough chop. The pieces do not have to be uniform or consistent.
- Put the spinach in the soup pot. Add spinach to soup by grabbing handfuls from the cutting board and dropping them into the soup pot as it cooks. Add one handful of spinach for every cup of soup being prepared. Gradually add more spinach by the handful as desired.
- With a large wooden spoon or a ladle, stir the spinach, soup and ingredients together. Mixing all the ingredients will allow the flavors to combine.
- Let the spinach wilt while the soup cooks. Keep the temperature on medium-low until the spinach has wilted and the flavors have joined with the other ingredients.
- Taste the spinach soup regularly to adjust heat level and seasoning. It should be simmering, rather than boiling. Once the spinach has wilted and the soup is hot, it's ready to eat.
- Serve the soup. Ladle into a bowl or bowls, and add any extra seasonings such as salt and pepper. Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on the top, if desired.
Tips
- Remember that fresh spinach will keep for 2 or 3 days in a sealed plastic bag that is refrigerated.
- If frozen spinach is used instead of fresh, thaw it and squeeze excess water from it before adding spinach to soup. Frozen spinach is usually processed immediately after picking and therefore retains most of its nutrition. It may be a healthier option if your fresh spinach options are more than a few days old.
- Always look for fresh, brightly colored leaves when buying spinach to make healthy soup. Spinach can be flat and smooth, or savoyed (crinkled).
- Some popular base soups for adding spinach include tomato, vegetable, beef and chicken noodle.
Things You'll Need
- Broth or stock
- Soup ingredients
- Soup pot
- Spinach
- Chopping knife
- Cutting board
- Large spoon or soup ladle
