Spinach, Coconut and Brown Rice Soup
It’s Monday morning and I’m in a grump. Summer seems to have deserted us, my jeans, back on after a few optimistic weeks of bare legs and loose skirts, are too tight (all the blog’s fault, duty bound to cook, sample, eat constantly) and my cleaner is away for a month forcing me to acknowledge that for all my eco-principles my under-sink cupboard is filled with an arsenal of heavy-duty cleaning products more suited to chemical warfare than cleaning a modest-sized flat.
Actually my husband and I are diametrically opposed in our views about cleaning products. He gets quite excited at a newer, stronger variety of bleach that promises to annihilate all forms of germ, virus and dirt where as I wipe quickly with some eco-spray at most, more often just boiling water, and wholeheartedly believe a bit of dirt will do the children some good. Between us we probably strike a healthy compromise. Shamefully, I do turn a blind eye to liberal use of chemicals when someone else is doing the cleaning as it IS nice to have a sparkly loo.
Anyway, my reluctant cleaning aside, I am also fed up with the fact that despite spending a small fortune on food each week there is NEVER anything to eat. This is a recurrent family complaint, though to my husband ‘nothing’ means nothing that will go straight from fridge to mouth – it all needs at least assembling if not actually cooking, and to my son it means, no hideously processed, sugar-laden rubbish. It’s all lies; there are usually plenty of delicious leftovers that SOMEONE manages to happily eat. Today however I am baffled, I mean, how can it only be Monday and all Friday’s market produce has gone already?
This isn’t STRITCLY true, there is plenty of left-over roast chicken, a whole delicious Sleightlet goat’s cheese from Neals Yard Dairy, pots and pots of chicken stock thanks to the generosity of the butchers at The Ginger Pig who gave me more bones than I knew what to do with and a split pigs trotter to make my stock lovely and gelatinous. Ok, maybe my complaining was premature, but there are no VEGETABLES, only some wilting, yellowing spinach, soft onions and a bit of garlic. Soooooo, yet again I am making soup to use up old vegetables – at least the weather is right for it today.
I read this recipe or something similar in a cooking magazine ages ago and mentally bookmarked it to try at some point. I make spinach soup, thickened with potatoes and enriched with double cream all the time, but this calls for coconut milk and brown rice to add body, so I thought I would give it a go. At first I wasn’t impressed but with the addition of some double cream (I know, the jeans . . sigh ) and more salt – it needs it this recipe – I was quite pleased. That and the Sleightlet and at least lunch is taken care of. And look the sun’s come out. I’m feeling better already.
Spinach, Coconut milk and Brown Rice soup
750g spinach leaves (the large-leaved Italian, stalky kind is best)
2 onions
clove of garlic
knob of butter
can of coconut milk
500ml chicken stock (or water, milk or more coconut milk,)
2 tbsp double cream
75g brown rice
salt and pepper
Cook the brown rice, I know it’s not much but it’s all you need, in a separate pan of salted water until tender.
Wash the spinach thoroughly. Gently fry the onions and garlic in the butter with a little salt and pepper until soft. Add the stock and simmer until the onions are soft.
Add the spinach and push handfuls of leaves down into the hot liquid and try and turn the seemingly gloopy mass over to let the top ones get to the heat and wilt. As they are wilting, add the coconut milk. Don’t let it cook too long if you want an appetizing bright green soup and not a sludgy pond colour.
Add the brown rice and cream and blend straight away to preserve the colour. Watch the amount of liquid when blending as you may not need it all.
Adjust seasoning – this likes plenty of salt and pepper and serve.
Variations on a theme: If you want a more substantial dish, cook 200g brown rice and rather than blending it in with the other ingredients to give a smooth soup, blend the spinach quickly, but not too smoothly, then add the rice and give one quick blitz so it is still very textured.
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