Spinach Tomato Chorizo Soup - Quick, Easy and Hearty

Winter is over, but there have been plenty of cold days that can bring on a craving for thick and hearty soups. This soup (or is it chili?) is delicious and can be made in under 30 minutes. You can make it with only the four main ingredients (spinach, tomatoes, onion and chorizo) or embellish it with corn, beans and/or peppers.


Blend together:
2 cups of spinach (packed slightly) or half a defrosted 10oz box of frozen chopped spinach.
2 15oz cans (or one large can) of diced tomatoes with oregano, basil and garlic (I'm looking for easy, so I use the pre-seasoned tomatoes). The best way I've found to do this is blend 1/2 the tomatoes, add 1/2 the spinach and blend, and then repeat again with the other halves of the tomatoes and spinach.

1 pound chorizo
1 medium onion, chopped
Cook in pot with 1 Tb oil with medium-high heat together until meat is fully cooked and onions are softened. If you want, empty the chorizo and onions into a colander to drain the grease, and then return to the pot.

Pour in blended spinach and tomatoes.

Bring to a boil, turn down heat to medium-low, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.

Salt to taste (I usually end up putting about two shakes from a salt shaker). Season further if you'd like: ground pepper, crushed garlic, etc.

And you can stop there and have a nice thick soup.

Or you can embellish it:

Right after adding the spinach and tomatoes (and before the simmering), add:
1 drained can of your favorite beans (I've used black and navy).
1/2 cup of corn (okay to throw in frozen)

After the soup is done and put in bowls, you can garnish with:
Mini sweet peppers cut into rings
Grated cheese (Parmesan is probably the best choice, but in the picture I used gruyere because that's all I had).

Garlic bread goes nicely with it.

The origin of this recipe is here. It called for using only ground beef or half ground beef and half spicy Italian sausage. You could certainly try that, or your favorite vegetarian substitute (perhaps soy chorizo?). I've found chorizo works perfectly and with the seasoned tomatoes I've found no need to season the soup any further. The original recipe also called for carrots and green beans, and I found they.just.did.not.work, especially the green beans.

Ingredients:

2 cups of spinach or half a defrosted 10oz box of frozen chopped spinach
2 15oz cans (or one large can) of diced tomatoes with oregano, basil and garlic
1 pound chorizo
1 medium onion, chopped
Optionally, any or all of these:
1 drained can of your favorite beans
1/2 cup of corn
Mini sweet peppers cut into rings
Grated cheese (parmesan the best choice)