Italian Spinach Soup

This soup we made was a request for my birthday dinner. We served it with Italian bread and a salad with sun dried tomatoes, avocado, fresh mozzarella and our home made garlic dressing! For my dessert I had a pumpkin cheese cake, recipe coming soon, and for my special breakfast Maple Walnut Muffins.

Italian spinach soup

ingredients

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning, crushed
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 2 Tbsp. dry sherry (optional)
• 2 14-oz. cans chicken broth
• 1 large potato, peeled and chopped
• 2 9-oz. pkgs. fresh spinach or 1-1/4 lb. fresh spinach, washed and trimmed
• 2 cups watercress, tough stems removed
• 2 oz. Parmesan cheese, shaved
• 2 small tomatoes, quartered, seeded and thinly sliced

directions

1. In 4-quart Dutch oven cook onion, garlic, and Italian seasoning in hot butter over medium heat 5 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring occasionally.

2. If using sherry, remove Dutch oven from heat; slowly pour in sherry. Return to heat; cook and stir 1 minute. Add broth and potato. Bring to boiling. Simmer, covered, 10 minutes or until potato is tender. Remove from heat.

3. Set aside 2 cups of the spinach. Stir remaining spinach, half at a time, into soup just until wilted. Cook about 5 minutes.

4. Transfer soup, half at a time, to food processor or blender; cover and process or blend until smooth. Return to Dutch oven; heat through. Season with salt.

5. To serve, top with reserved spinach, watercress, Parmesan, and tomatoes. Makes 6 side-dish servings.

nutrition facts

• Calories 151,
• Total Fat (g) 7,
• Saturated Fat (g) 4,
• Monounsaturated Fat (g) 2,
• Polyunsaturated Fat (g) 0,
• Cholesterol (mg) 18,
• Sodium (mg) 881,
• Carbohydrate (g) 16,
• Total Sugar (g) 3,
• Fiber (g) 4,
• Protein (g) 8,
• Vitamin C (DV%) 65,
• Calcium (DV%) 23,
• Iron (DV%) 16,
• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet