The Perfect Cure to an Indulgent Weekend

photo credit: Jenny Nelson

If you’ve ever overdone it on the weekend, a holiday or a vacation, this soup is THE perfect meal to not only get you back on track but to give your digestive system a break while still allowing you to feel like you’ve eaten well.  If you tend to balk at the mention of anything that is “healthy”, “low cal/low carb” or just plain good for you, you have to give this soup a try. This is a variation of the original recipe featured on Clean Blog. It was created by Frank Giglio.

My entire family devoured it and voted that it be a repeat. It is perfect as a lunch or part of a main meal. It is clean, fresh, light and flavorful but without the feeling that you’re eating cardboard or bland broth. Feel free to add your own variety of vegetables.

serves 4

prep time: 20 minutes?cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 celery stalk, chopped

2 medium sized carrot, chopped

3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

3-4 small read, yellow, orange baby peppers

1 quart chicken stock

3/4  pound fresh baby spinach or Kale, washed and stemmed

½ teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 tablespoons minced preserved lemon

sea salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

Peel and chop everything in the ingredients list. Saute onions, celery, carrot and peppers for about 5 minutes in olive oil or until soft. Add the spices and garlic and sauté about a minute more.

Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and add the spinach leaves in handfuls stirring until wilted down.

Add the preserved lemon and salt to taste (if needed). Simmer for 15 minutes.

You can roast ¼ pound of spinach leaves at 425? F mixed with olive oil, sea salt and peeper for 20-25 minutes or until crisp, stirring once in a while. Add some chips to garnish the top of the soup.