Delicious Sea Spinach and Coconut Soup

Sea Spinach soup is a simple, delicious soup which celebrates this wonderful wild green. Creamy, filling and even dairy-free, perfect for a fresh, early spring al fresco lunch, or an autumnal or winter trip out along the coast, with a flask of tasty hot soup.

Spring is here and it is undeniably the time for greens*; the green leaves and shoots of wild edibles start to edge higher towards the light and their taste begins to improve. I love seeing plants growing in the wild - green is gentle medicine for my eyes - and that's why I like to pick only the plants that are growing abundantly - leaving a lot behind in nature.

*If you're reading this in autumn or winter, the leaves of Sea Spinach , are also good to pick through autumn and winter too.

I don't always plan my foraging, actually, I rarely do, instead, it becomes a spontaneous response to my surroundings. This was one such morning; I'd arranged to meet a friend at 8am so we could enjoy a morning walk - the weather was expected to be good and we both wanted to start our day outside, in sunny nature.

It was crisp and sunny, and wrapped up in big coats we walked through a small woodland, birds singing, light streaming through and nature felt alive. We felt alive - fresh to the day and with nothing much to say.

We reached the coast, and Sea Spinach (Beta vulgaris), also known as Sea Beet, was almost glistening in the light. Ooh, those shiney leaves looked good enough to eat! We ambled along the coast and pick a few leaves here and there, looking for the best one, the shiniest ones, the healthiest, freshest ones, the further we walked, the more patches of leaves we found. Taking just what we needed, we continued on our sun-rich morning walk.

My mind wandered to cooking...

Hours later I was back in my kitchen, flicking through Darina Allen's book, looking for an inspiring spring greens recipe, and found a wonderful and traditional Sea Spinach soup; utilising this tasty wild in a full-fat, creamy base. Yum! I love Darina's writing and her traditional, fool-hardy recipes, I used her Irish Beef Stew recipe in my first book with wild, Black Mustard mash.

Thanks Darina.

Though as much as I love, and trust her recipes, sometimes I want a break from milk and cream. This was one such day, so I set about adapting her recipe to use coconut milk instead. I love tweaking recipes.

The result was delicious; I enjoyed it on the beach with a group of foragers (we all had seconds), then supped the hot left-overs as a starter with friends that evening. A beautiful, fresh green colour and perfect if you are waiting for the stinging nettles to arrive, though you are a little too early.

Sea Spinach and Coconut Soup (my version)

Ingredients

1 tbsp coconut oil
1 medium onion
150g pots, diced (scrubbed, though not peeled)
200g creamed coconut
1300ml boiling water
2 tsp powdered vegetable stock
salt and pepper
300g sea spinach (stalks removed)
handful of three-cornered leek (optional)

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over a medium heat, chop the onion and add to the sizzling oil, stir and cook until translucent. Lower the heat, add the potatoes, and sweat for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, roughly chop the cream coconut and place in a large, heat-proof bowl, pour the boiling water over the coconut, and stir until dissolved. Strain and add the liquid to the potatoes and onion. Season with stock and salt and pepper. Chop the sea spinach and three-cornered leek and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the spinach is cooked. Blend and serve, or pour into a hot flask and take to the beach for a hearty lunch.