This hearty spinach soup  is a perfect winter meal.  Not only is it packed full of nourishing goodness, it tastes absolutely delicious.  Serve with a bit of crumbled feta cheese and a slice of toasted bread and you have a complete meal in a bowl. Instead of feta cheese swirl  2T of double thick yoghurt into each bowl of soup, just before serving. Instead of sweet potatoes regularu potatoes can be used, but we find at Wickedfood Cooking School that sweet potatoes add a depth of sweet flavour to the dish. We use  a thin white sauce both to give the soup a depth of flavour and body.

 

2T butter

1T olive oil

1 large onion, peeled and coarsely chopped

3 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 lemon, the rind grated

2 (±700g) medium sweet potatoes scrubbed clean and diced to 1cm

±800g spinach or Swiss chard, trimmed and coarsely chopped 

salt and pepper to taste

±100g feta cheese, crumbled

White sauce base

2T butter

2 to 3T flour

1L milk

pinch grated nutmeg

1 vegetable stock cube

• Heat the butter and olive oil in a large pot.
• Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until it starts to soften.
• Add the garlic, lemon and diced sweet potato, together with 3T of water, reduce the heat and simmer until the sweet potato is soft.
• Add trimmed spinach, stir, cover  and sweat until wilted (and stalks are soft if using Swiss chard).
• Add the white sauce base, bring back to a simmer and liquidize.
• Season to taste.
• Serve in bowls, garnished with the feta.

White sauce base

• Melt the butter in a saucepan.
• Add the flour a little bit at a time until its absorbs all butter without drying out.  Continue to cook , stirring constantly, until the mixture starts to change colour.
• Remove from heat and add the milk  a little at a time, until you get a smooth loose paste.  Return to the heat and add the remaining milk, continuing to stir until it is all incorporated.  Add the nutmeg and vegetable stock cube, and bring to boil.
• Continue to simmer, stirring until the sauce reaches the consistency of thin cream.

Serves 4 – 6

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking studio. Cookery classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – teambuilding cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference. Our cooking lessons are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.