Spinach Soup

we had this at a friends house last night and it was delicious!!! so i thought i would share...we didn't have the garnish almond stuff but we did have the potatoes in it! so so yummy!
we also had some ham and cheese grilled cheese sandwiches with it.

Makes 8 cups
Total time- 25 minutes

For the soup base--
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
½ cup yellow onion, grated
½ cup carrot, grated
1 tsp. kosher salt, or to taste
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
¼ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

For the white sauce--
6 Tbsp butter, melted
6 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup milk(whole or 2%)

8 cups spinach, stemmed, thinly sliced into ribbons
2 cups heavy cream
1 Tbsp lemon zest, minced

For the garnish:
2 tsp butter, melted
½ cup sliced almonds

Simmer broth, onion, carrot, and seasonings in stockpot for 15 minutes.
For the white sauce, melt butter in saucepan over low heat; whisk in flour until smooth. Whisk milk into butter mixture, stirring to prevent lumps. Cook 2 minutes to eliminate floury taste. Stir into simmering soup base.
Add the spinach to the soup and cook just to wilt, 1 minute. Off heat, add cream and zest.
For the garnish, melt butter in a small sauté pan over low heat. Add almonds and toast until they begin to brown, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp almonds over 1 cup serving of soup.

SHRIMP AND SPINACH CHOWDER
Prepare soup as above with these additions:
Add to soup base:
3 cups red potatoes cut in chunks( about 1 lb.)
Stir in with Spinach:
½ lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined