Quick Spinach Stracciatella Soup
Now that the weather has jumped right out of sweltering summer and into very, very chilly fall, it's time for soup!! And even though soup is fairly easy to make and yields lots of leftovers, which makes serving hungry people easier for several days, sometimes it can even seem like throwing a pot of soup together takes too much time and effort--but not this one. No siree! This soup actually comes together in only 20 minutes which seems kind of impossible, but I swear I'm not lying. Oh, and it tastes great too! And it's healthy for you!! And low in calories!! What more can I say to convince you to try this?!!
The above picture is basically all you need you to make this soup, other than water and chicken broth. There's really nothing to it! Just some tossing into a pot and boiling and ladling! And it's the kind of thing you don't really have to plan for, as long as you keep some frozen spinach around!!
My daughter often gets out of school early enough that she doesn't have to actually eat lunch until she gets home, so about 20 minutes before I had to go pick her up, I whipped this up and we both ate a steaming bowl while watching the wind and rain pelt against our kitchen window. It was just perfect and a good way to make a little dent in the mountains of bagel chips I made last week!!
Every bite is full of the goodness of spinach, the tanginess of parmesan cheese and the mellowness of the broth and egg. It's true what they say, soup is good food!! And this one'll leave you with so much free time, that you might actually get to watch some of the new TV fall lineup. And on that note, has anyone seen the new episode of the Leftovers? If you have and understand what's going on, please explain!!
Quick Spinach Stracciatella Soup
Makes about 6 servings
Total Time: 20 minutes (only about 10 is hands-on)
Ingredients
2 cups water
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt (omit if you're not using low-salt broth)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
10 ounce package of frozen chopped spinach, not thawed
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 large eggs, beaten
Croutons, toasted baguette, bagel chips for dunking in soup (optional)
The Recipe
1. In a medium-large pot, heat the water, broth, salt and pepper until hot. Add in the frozen spinach and cheese and cover. Simmer for about 8 minutes, stirring every now and then, until the spinach is tender and cooked. In a slow steady stream, add the beaten eggs, stirring constantly.
2. Ladle into bowls and drop in any toasted bread if you like. Season with pepper to taste.
3. Leftover soup keeps in the refrigerator for several days.
Enjoy!
Note: Recipe adapted from an old issue of Gourmet Magazine.
