Chicken Pesto and Gnocchi Soup
Happy Day, Soupers! What do you do when you have a teen girl who just LOVES pesto and gnocchi? You find away to combine the two into a delicious soup, but we had some obstacles; allow us to explain below.
So when the teen girl decided she wanted this soup, it could not have been at a worst time of the day. I was stuck in after-work traffic and the local grocery stores were closing in less than an hour. While I was successful in picking up some ready-made gnocchi and Parmesan cheese, I still forgot the pine nuts. I ALWAYS forget something whenever I go to the store. However, we had an idea, why not substitute the pine nuts for almonds? Somewhere there is a chef ready to reprimand me severely for this, but you know what? The substitution worked out pretty great. All of the ingredients came together nicely and the squeeze of lemon was a really nice touch. If you need a pretty simply soup to pull together for lunch or dinner, this could be the perfect option.
Ingredients
1 16 oz package of gnocchi
2 chicken thighs and legs
1 red onion
1 leek
1 shallot (raw), chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
5 medium mushrooms
2 medium carrots
1 stalk of celery
1/8 teaspoon spicy paprika
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Pinch salt and pepper to taste
5 cups of chicken broth with a cube of chicken bouillon
3 tablespoon flour
1/8 teaspoon of thyme
1 pinch of nutmeg
1 pinch of rosemary
Pesto Alternative
1 cup fresh spinach, chopped for Pesto
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1/4 cup basil
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Using a blender wand, blend all pesto ingredients together.
Carolyn Moncel
Carolyn Davenport-Moncel is a digital media and communication consultant, author, mother, contrarian, book, music and reformed veggie lover and Founder and Souper-in-Chief at Simply Souperlicious, a platform devoted to helping fans "fall back in love with veggies" -- one local, seasonal, soup recipe at a time. Follow her veggie and soup journey on social media @simplysouperlicious.
- Prep 0min
- Meal Time Flexiterian
- Serves 4
Instructions
- Season stew chicken with salt and pepper. Melt the olive oil in a slow cooker and brown the chicken for about 15 minutes, turning occasionally.
- Add chopped red onions, carrots, leeks, celery, garlic, shallots, green onion and mushrooms to the slow cooker, stirring for about 3 minutes. Add spices: thyme and nutmeg and rosemary.
- Once browned, remove the skin and add chicken stock and cook on medium heat for 20 minutes.
- Add gnocchi and pesto to the mixture.
- Add balsamic vinegar, butter to the mixture and cover. Continue cooking for another 10 minutes. Stir on regularly and add salt and pepper to taste.
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