Spinach & Wild Garlic Soup

Fresh Spinach and Wild Garlic Soup, tasty and light

Spinach and Wild Garlic Soup (vegetarian, vegan option)

The wild garlic time is nearly over, so make the most of it with a final extra. The perpetual spinach in the allotment is now bursting forth with new growth, despite the rain, so there’s enough harvest to make this beautiful green soup.

Outside of wild garlic time, you can use a couple of cloves of garlic to give that pungent background taste which complements the spinach so well.

Light and tasty springtime lunch, garnished with the white flowers.
 
Serves 4               Timings:  30 minutes

• 1 medium onion, about 150g, peeled and finely chopped
  
• 1 medium potato, about 150g, peeled and cut into matchsticks
  
• 400g spinach leaves, washed and any large stalks removed
  
• 200g wild garlic leaves, washed and centre veins removed if they’re getting big – or two cloves of garlic squashed with salt
  
• 500ml vegetable stock
  
• 100ml milk
  
• Some wild garlic flowers and some sour cream to garnish

 
Cook the onion gently in vegetable oil until transparent. Don’t let it brown. Add the garlic cloves if using and stir to cook. Add the potato pieces to the pan with the vegetable stock and simmer for 10 minutes to cook through.

Add the spinach leaves and wild garlic leaves and cook for 10 minutes.

Liquidise and check the seasoning – you might need salt, depending on the saltiness of the stock you used. At this stage you can cook and keep in the fridge for up to 2 days or freeze.

When ready to eat, warm up the soup, and add the milk if using. Don’t boil, or you will curdle the milk.

Serve with a swirl of sour cream and a lovely scattering of garlic flowers.