Recipe

Spinach and Walnut Bisque with Parmesan Chili Croutons

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Photo by lechef

This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Spinach Recipe
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lechef's Notes: This recipe, believe it or not, came from our dining hall in college. No joke. Admittedly the food at Dartmouth was far above average, but specifically the food at Collis Hall was what I...
This recipe, believe it or not, came from our dining hall in college. No joke. Admittedly the food at Dartmouth was far above average, but specifically the food at Collis Hall was what I wound up living on for breakfast and lunch during my freshman year. Collis was about 50 feet from my dorm room, and while small, had an excellent selection of food. An omelet station, smoothies for the morning, a great sandwich and wrap area, and an ever-changing array of soups to go along with the sandwiches, and the requisite coffee for early morning classes ("early morning" being "10 a.m."). Back then I was still in the "fledgling chef" phase, but as soon as I tasted this soup, I knew that it was one that would be added to my quiver. The nice thing about this particular dining hall was that since it prided itself in "health" and "nutrition", the ingredients for each soup were listed on a card in front of the soup station. Thus I was able to take quick crib notes on the ingredients of the soup, and from there I experimented to come up with the proper proportions. Along the way I added a freshly toasted crouton to the dish, and now I can make it in my sleep. I figured that there was no better way to showcase spinach as an ingredient than in this unique, creamy bisque that takes no time at all to make. Spinach and walnuts? Who would have thought the would work out so well? Back in the day I used to cut corners and make it with canned spinach (for shame!) but now I use fresh. Also because everyone would laugh at me if I posted a recipe with canned spinach, obviously.

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Serves 6 as a starter

Spinach Walnut Bisque:

2 10-oz bags fresh spinach Ask a question about this ingredient

3 cups water Ask a question about this ingredient

1 cup chicken broth Ask a question about this ingredient

1 cup whole milk (or cream, if you want a richer bisque) Ask a question about this ingredient

2 tablespoons butter Ask a question about this ingredient

1/3 cup grated parmesan Ask a question about this ingredient

1/2 cup cream cheese Ask a question about this ingredient

1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts Ask a question about this ingredient

1 teaspoon paprika (preferably Hot Hungarian) Ask a question about this ingredient

1 teaspoon salt (to taste) Ask a question about this ingredient

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (to taste) Ask a question about this ingredient

Parmesan Chili Crouton:

1 French Baguette, cut into 1 inch cubes Ask a question about this ingredient

1/2 cup grated parmesan Ask a question about this ingredient

1 teaspoon chili powder Ask a question about this ingredient

1/4 cup olive oil Ask a question about this ingredient

salt Ask a question about this ingredient

freshly ground pepper Ask a question about this ingredient

Add 3 cups of water and the two bags of spinach to a pot large enough to hold them (this will eventually be your soup pot). Bring to a boil and steam the spinach for 5-6 minutes until wilted. You should wind up with about 3 cups of spinach and liquid. Discard excess liquid if you have more than that combined.
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In a food processor or spice grinder, finely chop about 1/2 cup walnuts until they are about the size of cous cous. Or, very finely chopped. You will need 1/4 cup of finely chopped walnuts.
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Pour the spinach and liquid into a blender. Add the chicken stock, milk, butter, parmesan, cream cheese, walnuts, and paprika. Blend until smooth.
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Return the bisque to the soup pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add salt and pepper and adjust to taste.
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While your soup is simmering (and you can let it simmer for a while on the stove while you are getting the rest of your dinner together) spread the baguette cubes on a baking sheet and heat your oven to 375.
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Drizzle olive oil over the croutons, and season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine.
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In a separate bowl, mix the parmesan and chili powder with a fork until combined. Toss the oiled croutons with the cheese mixture to coat.
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Place the croutons into the 375 degree oven and toast for approximately 15 minutes, checking and shuffling the croutons every 5 minutes. You want a golden brown crouton with little bubbly bits of cheese on it.
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Dish out the soup, garnish with 3-4 croutons, and serve. Have a dish of extra croutons on the table...you'll want them!
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4 Comments on Spinach and Walnut Bisque with Parmesan Chili Croutons

dymnyno added over 2 years ago

This sounds delicious...will try it soon...I love everything spinach! ...My college boarding house was next door to a Dunkin Donuts! We would sneek over in our bathrobes for coffee and ...

Loves Food Loves to Eat added over 2 years ago

This sounds delicious! At the University of Washington we had a pretty great, albiet NOT healthy dining hall in my dorm building.... which had a local 'gourmet' pizza chain, salad and sandwich bar, homestyle station, Asian fusion station, and Mexican station... we could have definitely used a healthy spinach soup to combat the ol' freshman fifteen!

testkitchenette added over 2 years ago

Oh, you are a lucky one to have delicious dining hall food. I do believe now that the Rollins College dining hall was trying to poison all of its students when I went there. Ironically, the dining hall burnt down within the first month of school starting. The administration would not refund our money for our meal plans so the only thing open was the snack bar which served frozen yogurt and cereal. After about 3 days of that I started secretly cooking in my room.
In any case, lovely recipe and it photographs beautifully!

Hadyourtea? added over 2 years ago

This sounds amazing, and I love flavoured croutons. Looking forward to trying it.