Russian Spinach Soup Recipes

RUSSIAN SPINACH SOUP

Steps:

• Remove and discard spinach stems. Rinse leaves well; then drain, stack, and cut crosswise into strips. Set aside. Stir together sour cream and dill weed; set aside. In an 8 to l0-quart pan, bring broth to a boil over medium heat. Meanwhile, dice potatoes. Add potatoes, carrots, bell peppers, celery, and onions to boiling broth. Return to a boil; then reduce heat, cover and simmer until potatoes are tender to bite (about 8 minutes). Increase heat to high. Add spinach and chicken to pan; cook, uncovered, until soup returns to a boil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. At the table, pass eggs and sour cream-dill mixture to spoon into individual portions.

RUSSIAN SPINACH AND SORREL SOUP

Steps:

• Wash the spinach very thoroughly, using only the crisp, fresh and tender leaves and removing all but the thinnest stalks.
• Remove the stalks from the sorrel, wash and set aside.
• 3 .Sweat the spinach in a covered saucepan for 2 minutes with a pinch of salt and no added water. Place the spinach in a sieve and refresh under running cold water; squeeze out all the moisture. Puree in the food processor.
• Sweat the finely chopped onion, carrot and parsley in the butter for 10 minutes over a low heat in a large covered saucepan, stirring at frequent intervals. Stir in the flour and continue stirring while cooking for about 30 seconds.
• Remove from the heat and pour in all the boiling stock at once; beat vigorously to prevent lumps forming.
• Stir in the pureed spinach, the bay leaf and a few whole black peppercorns, these last 2 tied in a small piece of muslin. Simmer gently for 10 minutes; shred the sorrel leaves into a chiffonade, add to the soup and simmer for a further 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Draw aside from the heat, remove the peppercorns and add salt to taste.
• Slice the hard-boiled eggs thinly; make the smetana by mixing the stiffly beaten cream, the soured cream and a little lemon juice to taste.
• Ladle the soup into individual heated soup bowls; place 1 tbsp of the smetana in each and float the egg slices on top (one egg per serving). Serve at once.