Spinach and Nutmeg Soup

Ingredients

For the soup

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 160 g spinach
• 1 litre vegetable stock
• 250 g white potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
• a pinch of grated nutmeg
• 100 ml plant-based double cream
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• pangrattato or croûtons, to serve (optional)

For the pangrattato (makes about 50 g)

• 1 slice of dried bread
• olive oil, for drizzling
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

To make the soup

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and sauté the chopped onion until soft and translucent. Add the spinach, stock and potatoes to the saucepan and simmer for about 15–20 minutes until the potatoes are soft.

Season with salt and pepper and a good pinch of freshly grated nutmeg. Blitz in a blender or food processor until the soup is smooth, or use a stick blender. Pour back into the saucepan and add the cream to the soup, then heat through gently.

Serve straight away with pangrattato or croûtons, if using.

To make the pangrattato

Blitz the bread to fine crumbs in a food processor. Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and add the crumbs. Season with salt and pepper and toast until the breadcrumbs are crisp. Stir all the time to make sure that the crumbs don’t burn.

Variations: You can vary this recipe by adding a clove of garlic or some lemon zest to the blender when processing the crumbs.