Eat greens everyday, I’ve been told, and of course I try to! Even more so during my pregnancy as I had a slight iron deficiency, which could have restricted me having a home birth if I hadn’t got the numbers back up again. And Spinach is around a good part of the year, so there’s really no excuses. Now it’s time for the fresh young leaves which is great as the potatoes are getting a little old now, so the young meets the old and it all balances out in this soup! Spinach is an amazing source of iron, it also has a lot of vitamin C which you need in order to absorb the iron. If you are pregnant then having a good intake of iron is very important, the baby and you will need plenty. Also after giving birth, if you’ve lost a lot of blood having a good intake of iron will help you recover. Having a deficiency in iron is not too uncommon in our society today and has serious affects on our blood production and transport of oxygen around the body. The symptoms can be really disruptive to our feeling of well being. So, all the more reason to make this soup! Spinach, however, can be a bit tricky to prepare, it’s quick to turn brown. The trick here is to add the spinach, already finely chopped, in at the end, it will wilt in just a minute. Potatoes aren’t something I use a lot of but they work so well with spinach and Indian spices and give the soup some body and a creamy texture. It’s important to cut the potatoes small and not to mix too long as they can quickly make the soup sticky in texture because of their high quantities of starch. This makes about 5 portions. I like to have it fresh with wholemeal bread one evening, then freeze two portions and have a portion leftover for a quick ready lunch a few days later.
Ingredients
1 Tbsp coconut or sunflower oil
1 large leek, about 250g
1 medium onion
3 garlic cloves
500 g floury potatoes
1 Tsp salt
1 Tsp garam masala
1/3 Tsp chili powder, optional
1, 2 L vegetable stock
400 ml coconut milk
400 g fresh spinach
Squeeze of lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper
Coconut yoghurt and fresh coriander to serve
Method
Remove the outer layer from the leek, cut lengthways in half, rinse between the individual layers and then roughly chop into slices. Peel and roughly chop the onion. In a medium saucepan gently heat the oil and sauté the leek and onion for about 10 minutes until soft. In the meantime peel and finely chop the garlic and ginger. Peel the potatoes and cut into small pieces, the smaller the better. Wash the spinach and leave to drain, removing any roots.
Once the leek and onion are soft add the garlic and ginger and fry for a further 2 minutes. Add the garam masala, and chilli powder if you are using, and fry until it becomes fragrant. Add the potatoes, stock and salt, and bring to the boil. Once the potatoes are cooked and disintegrating, add in the coconut milk, bring to the boil and then add the spinach and turn off the heat. Once the spinach has wilted blend the soup carefully in batches in a blender or use a hand blender. As soon as the soup is creamy, stop blending to make sure it doesn’t become sticky in consistency. Season to taste with pepper, a squeeze of lemon juice and possibly more salt. Enjoy this hearty soup whilst winter is still upon us! It’s great served with a dollop of yoghurt or coconut yoghurt and fresh coriander.
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