Spinach Cream Soup-پالک کا سوپ

Winters are here, almost… Yaaaaay!! It’s time for coffee, soups and kashmiri chai (pink tea), halvas and lots and lots of weddings.

As Marge Kennedy says and I agree, “soup is a lot like a family”. Every ingredient enhances the others; each batch has its own characteristics; and it needs time to simmer to reach full flavor. Pakistani cuisine does have soups but they are more like gravies called “shorba -شوربہ “.  So most of the soups that are made do not have roots in this region. Today’s post is packed with Popeye’s favorite thing.. Spinach. We can make this soup really healthy but what’s the fun in that so I’ll add a bunch of things and make it taste great.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups chicken stock
• 4 tbsp boiled spinach
• 3 tbsp cream
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1/4tsp black pepper
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/2 tsp salt.

METHOD:

1. Prepare the chicken stock. I usually prefer home-made stock and make it in large quantities to keep ready in the freezer.  I feel it takes the soup to a completely different level but you can buy pre-packaged from the store.
2. Wash and clean the spinach.
3. Boil water in a pan and add the spinach. Bring to a boil and remove after one minute.
4. Run the spinach through cold water as the spinach continues to cook when hot. Its important to stop the cooking process and to retain the beautiful green color.
5. Blend the spinach with just a little bit of cold water.
6. Pour 2 cups of chicken stock and heat on medium high heat.
7. Add salt, spinach and ground black pepper.
8. Turn off the stove off.

White sauce prep:

1. Melt butter in a pan and add the flour and mix well.
2. Now turn the stove on low to medium heat and saute for 2-3 minutes. Take it off the heat when fragrant.
3. Add the milk and mix quickly with a whisker to avoid forming any lumps. Place it back on the heat. You can add more milk milk if needed. In case there are lumps, just run the sauce through a sieve.

Back to the soup:

1. Turn the heat back on for the chicken stock, once its boiling again add the white sauce and mix with a whisker to avoid any lumps.
2. Let the soup cook for a few minutes so it gets a bit thick in its consistency. Just a reminder, this soup is neither too thick nor too thin.
3. When the soup is of the desired consistency, mix in the single cream into the 3rd cup of stock that we kept aside from earlier. Pour this cream mix into the soup.
4. Turn off the stove, serve warm with a dollop of cream on top and croutons.

This is my go-to soup recipe because of how quick and delicious it turns out every time. It tastes great as an appetizer and I just love it when served with warm hot buns straight from the oven and sometimes I serve them in my tea cups to feel oh so Lady-like:)

Aa jao bachon “Spinach soup” tayyar hai !!!!