Soup and Stews | Z's Cup of Tea

One thing I’ve come to like about food blogging, even before I started, is that it is interactive on so many levels. Readers commenting on your blog posts is one of them, and another is collaborating on recipes – whether it’s to create one or improve upon one already existing, I like doing it. It’s even more fun if you adapt a recipe blogged by another food blogger, post it on your blog, and that blogger comments on your version and also possibly offers any tips or suggestions to make it even better. That’s what puts blogging on a personal level that I don’t think can be achieved in the same way by cooking your way through a cookbook and feeling as if the author is right by your side, whether as a great teacher or a good friend. Most of that experience is based on your impressions of that author. In the end, you eventually recognize that it was you helping you all along and that author’s writing was an anchor, as Julie Powell came to understand with the help of her husband in Julie and Julia (the movie).

I digress. The point of my bringing this up is that I made this soup again, but made a curry version of it after a suggestion made by Amy of Simply Sugar and Gluten Free in her comment on the first version. At the time I got her comment, I was about to make the soup again and thought that curry would be a great idea. So here we have it.

As I learned with the first version, I learned the next day that the longer you cook this soup, the more it thickens. I had the unfortunate accident of cooking it too long: it was severely reduced to a mashed potato-like mush. It was still edible, but I didn’t find it so appealing when once it had been soup. So, the moral of this story is – don’t leave the soup, or reheating the next day, unattended. Blame the starch from the potatoes, if you must have something to blame. Sometimes, cooking is like small children: you have to keep a constant eye on it.

To make this soup, follow the instructions for the spinach Florentine potato soup (recipe here), but instead of rosemary, saute the onions with 1 teaspoon curry powder. Cooking the curry powder with the onions helps brown the spice (I could have this confused with another cooking term, but the gist of it is that I think it helps enhance the curry’s flavour or something?) You can use store-bought curry powder or make your own, as I did, using this recipe from Pecanbread.com. Also, this time I divided the 4 cups of potatoes. I added 2 cups to the soup, and I boiled the remaining 2 cups in a separate, smaller pot with water and mashed them instead of having to scoop out 2 cups-worth out of the pot. That step is optional, but I thought it made the soup a bit easier to make. I followed the rest of the instructions as usual. After it was done cooking, I adjusted the flavour, adding a scant amount more of curry powder.

Before I end this post, how do you like the new look? I spent almost half a day working away at it yesterday and it’s still not done! Trust me, a few more improvements are on the way. Anyone who has done computer work, specifically things like programming and codes, knows it can take a long time and eventually you need a break from it to stay sane.

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I saw this on Amy’s blog, Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, and thought, “I must make that soup!” Today. Even better that I had most of the ingredients on hand, so this was really impromptu. Things I did not have: dried rosemary, dried basil, parsley, milk, and cheese. The last two ingredients didn’t matter so much since I’m making a dairy-free version, substituting the milk with coconut milk. I used fresh cilantro in place of the parsley and ground rosemary instead of dried.

Sheesh, this is sounding like a lot of deviation from the recipe, isn’t it? Mainly because, aside from making it dairy-free, I didn’t want to have to wait to buy the ingredients I did not have. I wanted to make it now, deciding to use what I already had on hand, in stock, and substitute where possible.

Despite all, the soup turned out really well and everyone loved it. We had it for dinner.

My version is not as thick as Amy’s. In fact, its flavour reminds me of something my Dad used to make with spinach and coconut milk that was made in the oven. So here it is: Amy’s Spinach Florentine Potato Soup, my way. I only hope that I don’t sound like Frank Sinatra (kidding). I’ll try getting more photos – possibly including prep – later. Taking pictures of your family’s dinner isn’t always easy.

[Z soundtrack: David Bowie, "Golden Years"]

Ingredients:

1 to 2 tsp. olive oil or grapeseed oil
2 cups chopped onions (Z note: about 1 large onion, if it’s chopped finely; Amy’s recipe specifies yellow onions, although I’m not sure what kind of onions I have right now)
1 tsp. ground rosemary (Z note: increased amount by half since ground herbs don’t work the same way as dried)
4 cups vegetable stock or water
4 cups diced potatoes (Z note: I peeled mine)
1 tsp. salt
6 oz. spinach leaves, chopped (Z note: Amy used baby spinach)
1/4 cup fresh, chopped cilantro (Z note: Amy used parsley)
2 cups coconut milk

Method:

Heat olive or grapeseed oil over medium-low heat. Add onion and ground rosemary; onion should start sizzling immediately or almost immediately upon contact. Stir, mixing the onion and rosemary, and cover. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring ocassionally.
Add stock or water, potatoes, and salt. Bring to a very gentle boil and lower to a simmer. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
Use a slotted spoon to remove about 2 cups of the potatoes. Transfer to a bowl or small pot and mash (Z note: Amy used a blender, but I sometimes prefer being more hands-on). Add the spinach and cilantro to the pot, cover and cook for a few minutes or until greens are tender but still bright in colour – not wilted.
Stir the coconut milk into the mashed potatoes, adding some at a time so that it’s easier to manage, until completely mixed. Stir back into the pot and heat gently. Serve and enjoy!

This recipe is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesday.