Spinach soup in the Thermomix® only works properly if the sweet potato goes into the stock before the spinach. We cook the potato through first, then add the spinach just long enough to heat it, otherwise the soup turns bitter.
We have been making this soup regularly for years, especially on cold days. The combination of sweet potato, frozen spinach and crispy ham works every time, as long as you get the order right.
Spinach Soup with Crispy Croutons, Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 16 ✓
- 10 g ginger
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- 30 g butter
- 150 sweet potato
- 700 g vegetable stock
- 500 g leaf spinach frozen
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 80 g Black Forest ham
- 2 slices white toast bread
- 1 spring onion
- 100 g double cream
Instructions 0 / 8
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1
Chop ginger and garlic.
Peel the ginger, peel the garlic cloves, add both to the mixing bowl and chop for 3 sec / speed 8.
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2
Sweat.
Add cinnamon and butter to the mixing bowl and sweat for 3 min / Varoma / speed 1.
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3
Prepare sweet potato.
Meanwhile, peel the sweet potato, cut into pieces and add to the mixing bowl.
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4
Cook the soup.
Add vegetable stock, spinach, turmeric, nutmeg, salt, pepper and lemon juice and cook for 15 min / 100°C / speed 1.
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5
Fry ham and bread.
Meanwhile, cut the ham into strips and the toast bread into cubes, then fry in a pan until crispy.
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6
Slice spring onion.
Wash and trim the spring onion, then slice into rings.
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7
Add cream.
Add the double cream to the mixing bowl and stir for 4 sec / speed 3.
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8
Serve the soup.
Ladle the soup into bowls and serve garnished with ham strips, croutons and spring onion rings.
Nutrition per serving
Sweet potato must cook first
Sweet potato needs 15 minutes at 100°C, speed 1. In that time it becomes soft enough to blend. Frozen spinach does not need that time at all as it is already blanched and just needs to thaw. If you add both to the stock at the same time, the spinach overcooks and tastes bitter. That is why the sweet potato goes into the hot stock first.
Ginger, garlic and cinnamon as the base
The base starts with ginger and garlic, 3 sec at speed 8, then sweat with a pinch of cinnamon and butter for 3 minutes at Varoma, speed 1. Cinnamon might sound unusual in a spinach soup, but it adds a warm depth that complements the sweetness of the sweet potato. Without it the soup tastes flatter.
Frozen spinach only after the sweet potato
After the 15-minute cooking time for the sweet potato, the frozen leaf spinach goes in. The remaining time is enough to thaw it and bring it together with the other ingredients. Cooking it longer would turn the green colour grey and make the spinach bitter.
Turmeric for colour
1 tsp of turmeric gives the soup a rich yellow tone. Without turmeric the soup looks pale green. With it, the colour becomes a vibrant green-gold. Flavour-wise the turmeric stays in the background; the main effect is visual.
Cream added after cooking
The cream goes in only after cooking, stirred in for 4 sec at speed 3. Adding cream during cooking would cause it to split at 100°C. Added afterwards, it makes the soup creamy without curdling.
Croutons in the pan
Toast bread is cut into cubes and fried crispy in a pan. Oven-baked croutons turn too dry. In the pan they absorb a little fat and stay soft inside with a crisp outside. The Black Forest ham only needs 2 to 3 minutes in the pan; any longer and it goes tough.
Spring onion scattered on raw
The spring onion is sliced into fine rings and scattered raw over the finished soup. Raw, it stays crisp and slightly sharp. Cooked in, it would go soggy.
Lemon juice at the end
1 tsp of lemon juice goes into the mixing bowl during cooking. It lifts the flavours and balances the sweetness of the sweet potato. More acidity would make the spinach overpowering.
How long it keeps
The soup keeps for 3 days in the fridge. When reheating, bring it gently to 70°C but do not let it boil, otherwise the cream may split. Add the croutons and ham fresh each time as they go soggy when reheated.
More soup recipes with the Thermomix®:
Goes well with: Yoghurt.
- Potato Soup, Thermomix®
- Gyros Soup
- Pancake Soup
- Tomato Soup
- Leek Soup and Cheese and Leek Soup
- Thermomix® Pumpkin Soup
