"I'm Popeye, the Sailor Man" Cream of Spinach Soup

As with all veggies there are immense health benefits to spinach. Just ask Popeye. He was always able to save Olive Oil and the day with instant strength just by inhaling a can of the limp dark green vegetable. Just lately it has been found that a daily serving of spinach, and not a big one at that, can help stem the development of macular degeneration. Since both my parents suffer from this, I am trying to get spinach regularly in my diet. And since I such an afficionado of soup, why not cream of spinach. So here we go. "Toot! Toot!"

Cream of Spinach Soup

The Ingredients

5 cups chicken broth
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 pound fresh prewashed and stemmed spinach (I use organic baby spinach )
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch of ground white pepper
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup heavy cream
pinch of grated nutmeg
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

This takes a couple of pans to make as well as a blender. Put the 5 cups of broth in a sauce pan, cover, and heat until hot. In a soup pot, melt in 3 TBS. of butter (I actually used 2 TBS. butter and 1 TBS. bacon fat). Add the onions and cook until translucent. Lower the heat and add the spinach, stirring until just wilted. Sprinkle with the flour stirring once. Add the warm chicken broth, stirring constantly, bringing to a boil over high heat.

At this point, you are going to transfer the mixture to a blender. I let it cool for a bit so I don't have an explosion from the blender. Then puree it. You could use a food mill or an immersible blender also.
When it looks like the picture below return it to the pan and add salt and pepper. Isn't that a lovely green!

OK, we're almost there. In a small bowl mix together the yolks and the cream. Stir in a small amount of the spinach. This keeps the egg from cooking into bits. Return the mixture to the pot. Add the remaining butter, the nutmeg and the Parmesan cheese. Just heat through, and serve. Watch out for your expanding forearm!

This is a soup I would serve as a first course. It is fairly light and not very thick. But it is very refreshing. I would be interested in hearing how others will tweak it. Hubby and the family member that is having to have foods pureed enjoyed it. Let me know what you think.