Short Cut Chicken Gnocchi Soup

By lakecar

Ingredients

• ◾4 Tbsp butter
• ◾1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ◾1 cup onion, finely diced
• ◾1/2 cup celery, finely diced
• ◾3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• ◾1/4 cup all purpose flour
• ◾3 cups half and half
• ◾1 cup finely shredded carrots
• ◾1 1/2 tsp kosher salt (not table salt)
• ◾1 Tbsp fresh chopped parsley
• ◾1 tsp fresh thyme, leaves only
• ◾1/4 tsp finely grated nutmeg
• ◾1/2 tsp black pepper
• ◾1 (32oz) box chicken stock
• ◾1 (16oz) container of gnocchi
• ◾my kids say two containers would be better
• ◾3 cups cooked chicken
• ◾I used a rotisserie chicken
• ◾2 cups fresh spinach, coarsely chopped

Details

Adapted from menumusings.blogspot.com

Preparation

Step 1

In a soup sized pot, saute your onions, celery, and garlic in the butter and olive oil on medium heat until the vegetables are soft and translucent. Grate the carrots while the vegetables are sauteing. Sprinkle in the the flour to make yourself a roux. You will want to let the butter and flour mixture cook for a good 4 - 5 minutes. You don't want a flour'y taste.


Add the half and half to the roux and stir or whisk until nice and smooth. Let it come up to a nice bubble. Add in the grated carrots and your seasonings. We want to give the carrots a nice cooking time so they will be soft. After the mixture thickens again, add in the chicken stock. Start bringing this up to simmer. While the soup is simmering, bring your water to a boil and add in the gnocchi. Boil according to instructions on the package, about 2 minutes. They will come up to the top and float when they are ready.

Drain your gnocchi and add it to the soup. Now add in the chopped spinach and the cooked, chopped chicken. The spinach only has to cook 3 or 4 minutes to wilt down. Basically, once it's heated through and you get everything else out, the spinach is ready. Take this opportunity to adjust any seasonings. To serve, grate some fresh Parmigiano reggiano over the top and sprinkle a little black pepper.