The story of Spinach soup
Spinach reached Europe from Persia by way of the Arab world, and its names in many languages, from Turkish ıspanak to Bulgarian spanak and English spinach, still carry the Persian root. In Turkey and the Balkans spinach soup is a homely winter soup, and there it is almost always thickened with yogurt and egg: in Turkey with a mixture warmed gradually with the soup, and in Bulgaria with a similar mixture called zastroyka, which gives the soup creaminess without cream.
In Israel spinach is a winter leaf, and frozen spinach sits in almost every freezer, so spinach soup is made all year. All the styles are known here: a parve green cream soup with potatoes, a sour Turkish version with yogurt and mint, a Bulgarian version with rice, and an Italian one with small pasta, egg and Parmesan.
What makes Spinach soup itself
Spinach soup is a soup of minutes. All the work goes into the base, onion, garlic and potatoes cooked until soft, and the spinach itself goes in only once the base is ready, for 3 to 4 minutes. Blend at once, add the lemon only when serving, and you get a vivid green soup with a fresh taste, without the metallic bitterness of overcooked spinach.
