Creamy Potato and Spinach Soup

It's a snowy day and shows no signs of letting up. With a busy week, I didn't prepare, and while I would get outside for ingredients, I decided to make do with my pantry and last night's leftovers. This recipe is loosely based on this one from, you guessed it, Giada DiLaurentiis.

Creamy Potato and Spinach Soup

Ingredients: one shallot, 2 celery ribs, 2 potatoes, 4 cups of chicken broth, about 2 or 2.5 cups of spinach (or whatever greens you like), and 1/4th cup of cream (or 3 Laughing Cow cheese wedges).

Oil the bottom of a fairly deep saucepan and cook 1 finely chopped shallot and 2 finely chopped ribs of celery. Season with garlic salt and black pepper.

Cook shallot and celery until transparent and fragrant. Add 2 peeled and diced potatoes to the pot (I used Yukon Gold) and 4 cups of chicken stock. Bring to a boil on high heat and then reduce to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

I prepared this whole wheat cornbread in the meantime.

Add about 2 cups of finely chopped spinach leaves and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes. Place potatoes and vegetables in the blender and add stock, just until veggies are covered. I separated these using a strainer and a bowl in my sink because I just realized I don't have a slotted spoon.

Giada's recipe called for 1/4th cup of cream, which I didn't have on hand, so I combined three Laughing Cow creamy cheese wedges with about 1/2 tablespoon of milk, mashed the cheese, and added it to the blender. Puree until smooth.


Return puree to the pot with the remaining stock and stir until warmed through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. I melted a little parmesan cheese into my pot at this time.

We ate this soup up, served with warm honey cornbread. I am going to try variations on this soup, possibly adding half of a minced yellow onion to the pot at the beginning and some carrots.