Spinach, Tomato, Lamb and Rice Soup

Directions

1. Warm the oil in a soup pot, add the onion, garlic and salt, stir well, cover and sauté over a very low heat until the onion is pale and soft - around 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a hot pan, brown the minced lamb, stirring constantly until the pink colour disappears and each mince morsel is slightly crisped around the edges. Remove from the heat, cover and set aside.
3. Add the stock and tomatoes to the soup pot, bring just to the boil, lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes before adding the lamb (with juices) and simmering for a further 5 minutes.
4. Add the rice, Worcestershire sauce and a few good grindings of black pepper and simmer for a further 10 minutes then add the spinach and continue simmering until it has just wilted but is still bright green.
5. If the soup is a little thick for your liking, add more stock or water then check the seasoning, adding more salt, pepper and/or Worcestershire sauce to taste.
6. If you make the soup ahead of time and either refrigerate or freeze it you will likely have to add more stock or water as the rice will swell and absorb quite a bit of the liquid.
7. NB: instead of lamb mince and lamb stock you can use beef mince and beef stock, chicken/turkey mince with chicken stock or use vegetable stock with whichever mince you choose.