Your Sunday Sooooooop Recipe

Ah, October’s bright blue weather, crisp cool mornings, time to get out and start in on fall pruning chores. In my back yard, the four o’clocks are sagging and dying, the magnificent grape vine along the back fence is filled with yellowing leaves with many already on the ground. The ‘spitoonyahs’ are looking blowsy and blown and time for a trim back in hope they’ll have one last bloom in them before they’re gone for the season. Clearly, Winter’s a’cummin’ and what better on a crisp day than Spinach, leek, and potato soup? This one again from the Oct. Sunset Magazine, which describes it thusly: “Good old vichyssoise, but with spinach and without cream – so it’s a beautiful electric green and kind to your waistline.” I Yum Wot I Yum! Turn you into Popeye in a trice! And couldn’t be more simple or deeeelicious!


Trim tough stems from 1 lb spinach (1 bunch)
Cook: 1 lb ( 2 leeks, approx) cleaned, sliced leeks in butter with salt, stirring until softened, about 5 minutes. Add 4 cups low-salt vegetable or chicken broth and 1 large chopped peeled Yukon Gold potato (or 2-3 medium regular potatoes if you can’t get Yukon Golds). Bring to a boil covered, then simmer until potatoes are tender, 10 – 15 minutes. Add spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 minute.
Puree soup in a blender or with an emersion blender. Reheat in pan thinning with more broth. Season with salt and pepper.
Top it with croutons. Serves 4 – 6