Spinach & Dill Soup with Pumpernickel Croutons

Spinach & Dill Soup with Pumpernickel Croutons

When you blog about what you’ve been cooking, it’s tempting to just put the splashy dishes out there, the crowd pleasers: Gingersnap & Bourbon Bread Pudding, Squash & Brie Galette, Pumpkin Streusel Coffeecake.  It’s much easier to invite strangers into your life and offer them something warm from the oven than it is to, say, offer a ladle full of spinach soup.

But my blog is my real life eating and girl cannot live on flour and butter alone.  Real life calls for some healthy weekday lunches between weekends of Croque Monsieur Buns.  Real life calls for vegetables and greenery.  Bright green helps even things out.

If bright green is good, then it can’t get much better than this spinach soup.  And despite it’s somewhat terrifying shade of swamp-monster green, it’s actually really tasty and a cinch to make.  The spinach is complemented by fresh dill and plenty of lemon juice.  Potatoes thicken the soup up and make it substantial enough to stick with you through the afternoon.  Add a dollop of Greek yogurt for creamy tang and pumpernickel croutons for crunch.

Like I said, there’s nothing to this soup.  It starts just as you’d start most soups: carrot, celery, onion. Build your flavor base, add a couple of diced potatoes, broth.  Let the potatoes get tender and add heaps of fresh spinach and a few stems of dill.  Cover and wilt.

Cube a few slices of pumpernickel, toss with a little olive oil, and pop into the oven to make crunchy croutons.  Could you go a different route for the garnish?  Absolutely, that’s the fun of making basic soups like this.  You could roast chickpeas with caraway seeds until they’re crunchy and float them in the center of the bowl.  Stick with the pumpernickel croutons and add slivers of cold-smoked salmon.  A mini grilled dill-havarti cheese sandwich?  A little mound of quinoa and few toasted walnuts?  Go crazy!

Puree the soup and a good squeeze of fresh lemon juice.  Season with salt and pepper.

Soon we’ll meet again over baked goods and coffee.  Until then, I’ll be enjoying my spinach soup.

Spinach & Dill Soup with Pumpernickel Croutons

Spinach & Dill Soup with Pumpernickel Croutons
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Soup, Lunch
Cuisine: Vegetarian, Vegan, Healthy
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
  • 1 Onion, diced
  • 1 Carrot, diced
  • 1 rib of Celery, diced
  • 2 cloves of Garlic, minced
  • pinch of Red Pepper Flakes
  • 3 medium Potatoes, cut in ½ in. cubes
  • 4 c. Vegetable or Chicken Stock
  • 2 bunches Spinach, stems removed
  • 3 stems Fresh Dill, plus additional for garnish
  • juice of ½ Lemon
  • 3 thick sliced of Pumpernickel, cubed
  • Greek Yogurt
Instructions
  1. Heat olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Sauté onion, carrot, and celery until soft, 3-5 minutes. Season with salt. Add minced garlic and red pepper, sauté about 1 minute, until the garlic is fragrant. Add potatoes, season. Add stock, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, 15-20 minutes. Add the spinach and dill, season, and partially cover. Simmer until the spinach has wilted, about 5 minutes. Add lemon juice and allow to cool slightly. Puree soup, using an immersion blender, blender, or food processor, until smooth. Season with additional salt and pepper, if needed.
  2. While the soup is simmering, make croutons. Preheat oven to 400°. Toss the cubed pumpernickel with olive oil, salt, and pepper and bake until crunchy, about 10 minutes.
  3. Ladle soup into warm bowls. Sprinkle with croutons, add a dollop of yogurt, and garnish with fresh dill.

 

Comments

  1. laura(from temperance mi) says

    Hi Sarah, This looks easy and yummy. I will be making this soon. I have made your granola recipe many times—Love it! Have fun on your trip.

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