Have you ever gotten a recipe idea out of a novel? I just finished Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver yesterday, and this soup was inspired by a soup that one of the characters was dreaming up in her farm kitchen. I subbed out the heavy cream for some thickened almond milk, and used my imagination to fill in the blanks. I hope you like it!
Creamy Spinach Soup
Ingredients
- 1 T olive oil
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1 bay leaf
- 5 cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 can white beans
- 8 oz bag spinach
- 5 cups almond milk
- 1 T corn starch
- 1/2 t sea salt
Directions
1. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil for about five minutes.
2. Add mushrooms and bay leaf, and continue to saute until the mushrooms soften slightly, then add the spinach, one handful at a time, until in shrinks down.
3. In a large pot, add almond milk, corn starch and salt. Heat to a boil, stirring consistently. Once it reaches a bowl, turn down the heat to medium, continuing to stir until the soup reaches the desired thickness.
4. Add everything from the saute pan, plus the can of white beans, into the large pot with the liquid. Allow to cook for about 20 minutes, remove bay leaf, and serve.
Love you guys!
<3 Lindsay
PS. Here’s a fun song for you guys!
I loved that book, the way all the stories coalesced at the end into one big happy extended family. Your soup looks yummy.
I am currently reading a novel set in the early 1930′s and all of the protagonist’s children develop celiac disease sometime between the ages of one and five. Four of six have already died of malnutrition due to persistent vomiting and diarrhea. The last two kids (ages two and five) have been seen by a doctor that is the first they’ve encountered that is familiar with celiac disease. He prescribes a banana diet – multiple bananas a day and nothing much else – which allows them to begin to thrive. Thereafter they have a very restricted diet, but continue to thrive. Is there any science that you know of behind this banana diet? Just wondering.