Mushroom-Spinach Soup With Cinnamon, Coriander and Cumin Recipe (2024)

This made a great foundation for wonderful soup. I started first with some bits of bacon that I had left over, substituted a whole sweet onion for the shallots, added a clove of chopped garlic, and then all the fresh mushrooms chopped, then the wonderful spices, followed with 5 cups of chicken broth (instead of water) and egg pasta noodles. Just before taking from the stove, added the fresh spinach! It was delicious, and my husband loved it! I especially loved all the amt. of mushrooms .

very delicious. I don't have an immersion blender and left it the way it was -- chunky (and it looked just like the picture). I would argue for not processing it.

All in all a real winner, totally tasty, really interesting texture. Made a few substitutions pantry and spice-wise, yellow onion for shallots, only Portobello mushrooms, dried thyme for fresh, added thinly sliced sweet potato and kale at the end. Used the water as directed because to me the interesting part about the recipe was to discover if ordinary water would deliver a rich stock flavor. It did. Stirred dollops of creme fraiche into each bowl. Wow!

This soup is absolutely fantastic: one of the best NYT recipes I have made, and I make a lot of them. I used veg stock instead of water, chose butter (4 Tbsp are enough), and used a blend of sh*take, wood ear, and oyster mushrooms. Don't skimp on the limes: I used two. Umami level midnight.

This recipe was so simple and packed with flavor! I used some dried porcini's then used the soaking liquid as part of the broth. I also added diced tofu, celery leaves and radish on top and made this a complete meal. This one is going in the books!

Darn auto correct ...that is crimini mushrooms not criminal.

Really enjoyed this. Pureeing the soup slightly is important; adds a "meaty" flavor to the broth, while still leaving some pieces of mushroom for texture.

We substituted Swiss chard for spinach and homemade chicken stock for water. Added 3/4 cup of barley and simmered for 50 minutes instead of 20. Used 2 shallots, one small onion, micro-planed garlic and the chard stems, diced small. Doubled the ground coriander, omitted the allspice. Used a heavy hand with the pepper mill. Had neither lime nor yoghurt but grated some Parmesan over. Absolutely delicious.

Made this exactly as written, except I didn't have limes so I used lemons instead. Absolutely delicious and perfect. My roommate went absolutely nuts for it too. A keeper.
To those who cut (complained about) the salt: you do realize kosher salt is different from table salt, right?

Haven't tried it yet but thinking about adding lentils. Any thoughts?

Used a lamb shank. Simmered it for 60 - 90 minutes before adding it (with its broth) to mushrooms, etc. instead of water. Added a half cup of barley with the broth. So a combination of scotch broth and mushroom spinach soup. Delicious!

Thank you for this fabulous recipe and the helpful comments from other makers! I whipped up this soup using what I had, which amounted to fewer mushrooms and 3 cups of broth, but I kept the amount of spices just as the recipe called for (except, no coriander, and half the salt). The resulting flavor was out of this world. I tossed in some leftover brown rice and diced cooked chicken with the spinach and had an hearty, amazing meal in a short time. I'm definitely making this again!

I really dislike chicken stock/ broth. I've made this and it's very good without some meat broth. I am not a vegetarian but I dislike meat in a recipe that is essentially not meat oriented. You can make excellent vegetable stock by roasting the vegetables.

EXCELLENT QUESTION. Chicken stock/broth will make the soup richer and is a better choice than water.

So yummy and filling! I made the soup as written, only adding cooked, crumbled Italian sausage at the end. I used my immersion blender on about a third of the soup and the the eldest chunky. Absolutely delicious.

Delicious as written, wouldn't change a thing.

was a bit too much salt - used sea salt and more than 1/4 t less but it was still too much

OMG - this is one of the best soups ever and I love that it makes its own broth. I was a little nervous about not using veggie stock or broth but it turned out great. I guarantee this will be on frequent rotation. I did cut down the salt. I used equal parts unsalted butter and olive oil and a regular diced onion. And I cooked the mushrooms down in a huge stockpot in one step. I used bottled lime juice because that’s what I had.

Used juice from 2 limes - great add (brightens)

I made this exactly as written. It was only "OK" at my house. I have leftover which will somehow enhance but will not repeat the recipe.

I read these notes to learn others experience with THE RECIPE -- not their 'theme and variations' on it. Sure, I get a tweak here and there but sooo many turned Melissa's recipe into a whole other thing (e.g., adding a lamb shank or barley or root veggies or lentils or chicken stock)...and even after raving about how great her recipe. Want to share your innovations? Just do so AFTER you made hers and indicate what you found lacking. THAT would be helpful...

Wonderful! I added 1/2 indigo lentils, roasted zucchini and a poblano pepper because it's what I had on hand. What a lovely flavor profile!

Took direction from the comments, swapping water for chicken stock. I also added a couple cans of mushroom pieces to supplement my fresh shrooms, adding the liquid from those cans to the chicken stock. didn't skimp on the limes, as per other comments, adding 1 1/2 fresh lime juice (It balances out the cinnamon nicely)... I did 2 tbsp of tomato paste and added in 1 tsp of ground ginger, the ginger adds a subtle kick to the soup. served with sour cream and Parm. SO flavorful. Loved it.

Excellent soup — not too heavy.I used 12 oz fresh shiitake, 4oz. baby bella and 4 oz mixture of dried treeear,oyster, shiitake, etc. and 1 cup of the hot water from rehydrating them.32 oz Kirkland organic chicken bone broth1 minced clove garlic 1 1/2 T kosher salt1 cup cooked barley added with the broth.Omitted allspice2 T lime juiceUsed the immersion blender lightly

As with Sarah, I used Swiss chard and with Grace I did not blend it, and I added sautéed fried paneer since this had an Indian flavor. I did use the lime and a heavy hand with the pepper, but I used no salt as I have to be salt free, and this recipe is perfect for a salt, free dinner.

4 cups of veggie broth, 1 cup white wineCeleriacgarlic bag

Wholly cumin! Going to try this recipe with 1/4 of the cumin. Totally overpowered the recipe. Cumin soup with mushroom texture. Otherwise I think it might be a really great recipe.

1/2 pound of shallots?

Very nice soup for winter days if you don’t want something heavy but still want that hearty feeling. I decided to only blend 1/3 of the soup so it is thick but still has nice pieces of mushroom. I don’t like mushroom soup when it’s one big uniform mass. Very tasty and easy to make.