Romanesco & Spinach Soup with Marscapone

Its #SoupSaturday again. Well its actually Sunday today but its normally a Saturday when I make soup. Yesterday I was too tired. Today I am full of beans. Romanesco is a cross between a cauliflower and broccoli. It has all the colour of the broccoli but the texture is much more like the crunchy cauliflower. Its such a pretty vegetable, and seems a shame to lose the look by making a soup, so I made sure I topped the soup with some garlic sautéed pieces.

A healthy, creamy soup with just a little mascarpone cheese to give it a luxurious, velvety texture. And the colour! It looks, and is, a bowl of delicious health. Served with a crusty buttered baguette. I really love soup Saturdays!

Ingredients:

I head romanesco broccoli, in florets
1 litre vegetable stock (cube is fine)
250g fresh spinach
good grating of nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
100g mascarpone cheese
1 small clove garlic, chopped finely
little grating parmesan cheese

Method:

Pour the hot stock into a large pan and when boiling add the broccoli. Pop on a lid and cook on a medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until soft. Add the spinach in two batches, putting the lid on the pan so the spinach wilts into the soup.

Take the pan off the heat and use a hand blender to blitz the soup until its smooth. Put back on the heat and add the nutmeg and seasoning. Stir the mascarpone into the soup until it melts and keep the soup warm - do not boil.

Serve the soup with some bits of romanesco that have been pan fried with a little chopped garlic and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. Delicious!