Crock It! Spinach And Rice Soup

This recipe is inspired by one of my favorite Marcella Hazan soup recipes, Spinach in Broth. I first had it years ago when my dad started his winter soups extravaganza. Eventually, I got my hands on my own copy of the recipe and, as usual, made adaptations from there. My latest attempt at adaptation is to make this soup in my Crock Pot. What am I hoping to accomplish by doing this? More broth in my soup without less flavor. the original recipe is a thicker soup without a lot of broth. I like broth, so I’m on a mission and there is only one way to find out if it will work.

Spinach and Rice Soup

Ingredients:

1 10oz. bag of spinach leaves (whole leaves not the ones for salad)

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup water

1/2 onion finely diced

3  small cloves garlic

Kosher salt

1 Tbs. butter

1/4 cup short-grain white or brown rice

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

What’s Next:

1. Rinse the spinach leaves in cold water several times to remove any dirt. Set  in slow cooker.
2. Saute onion and garlic in butter.
3. Add onion and garlic to spinach in slow cooker.  Sprinkle generously with Kosher salt.
4. Add broth and water.
5. Cook on low for 2 1/2 hours. The  spinach will have cooked down and will be in the broth and water.
6. Add rice and stir to combine. Continue cooking on low heat for another 2 hours.
7. Serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese and warm crusty bread.

Notes from my experience:

The longer the spinach cooks the less bitter it will be in the soup. Feel free to adjust the cooking time to your taste.

The benefit of short-grain rice in this soup is that after long cooking times it still holds its shape and flavor.

This soup also freezes well, which I love. It gets me through the winter.

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