Potato, Spinach and Bread Soup

Soup doesn't need to be fancy or complicated to be completely delicious.  This recipe is for an extremely humble soup; the kind of thing you'd imagine would have been considered "peasant" fare in a less enlightened time.

Well, peasant fare or not, it's incredibly tasty, easy to prepare, and comforting as any good soup should be.  There are shockingly few ingredients - most of them are already in the name.  This is definitely a meal in a bowl - you don't even need bread for dunking, as it is already in the soup! 

The flavor profile is simple and familiar, but these elements all together are not entirely obvious.  Give it a try and see.

Potato, Spinach and Bread Soup

adapted from Jack Bishop's Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook

serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 pounds baby Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces

4 1/2 cups vegetable stock

4 cups packed spinach leaves, washed, dried, and coarsely chopped

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

2 cups cubed (1/2 inch) day-old whole grain baguette

extra virgin olive oil for serving

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Place the potatoes and vegetable stock in a medium soup pot or Dutch oven.  Turn the heat to high and bring to a rapid boil.  Cook for 15 minutes, uncovered.  

2.  Reduce heat slightly (but keep a bubble going) and add the spinach, pressing it down into the liquid gently.  Salt and pepper to taste, then place a lid on the pot and cook for 10 minutes, or until potatoes are falling apart and spinach is tender.

3.  Turn off the heat and stir in the bread cubes.  Cover the pot and let sit for 5 minutes, allowing the bread to soak up some broth.  The soup will be quite thick.

4.  Ladle the soup into bowls and drizzle lightly with extra virgin olive oil.

Enjoy!