Olive Garden's Chicken Gnocchi Soup

Mmmm. Olive Garden does a lot of things right but I have to say that their chicken gnocchi soup paired with salad and breadsticks is AWESOME! Thankfully, my family consists of a bunch of Italian wannabe's, so we frequent our local Olive Garden often. This is what I order almost every time. There are many recipes that try to copycat this decadent soup and if I must say so myself, this one here came pretty darn close.

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, boiled
4 Tbsp of butter
16 oz. of evaporated milk
4 Tbsp of olive oil
18 oz of chicken broth
1/2 cup of chopped celery
1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
3 garlic cloves minced
1 medium onion, chopped fine
Carrots (.5 cup if chopped in food processor, 1 cup if shredded)
2 cups of fresh baby spinach chopped
16 oz package of gnocchi
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese for garnish

Let's get started.

Chop your celery.

And now your garlic.

I put my carrots and onion in the food processor to get them very fine.



 

Coarsely chop your spinach.

Take your butter and olive oil to saute your onions and garlic. Once transparent, add your flour and stir for about one minute creating your roux.

Now add your evaporated milk, chicken broth, carrots and celery. Stir occasionally.

I took my kitchen sheers to my boiled chicken to get the right pieces. Not too shredded and not too chunky. I also added salt and pepper before adding to the soup.

Now add your chicken and spinach.

Cook your gnocchi according to package directions, drain and add to your soup base. I bought wheat gnocchi because I was feeling healthy. Olive Garden uses the white and I will probably try that next time.

This soup turned out great. My version was a little thicker than Olive Garden's but I liked that better. If you like a runnier consistency then I would recommend adding more chicken broth or even water. I added a good bit of salt and pepper based on our preferences. I sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and it was the perfect blend! I hope you enjoy as much as I did.

'Till next time,

Natalie 

Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken noodle soup. It doesn't get any more basic or traditional than that.

I was searching for a new chicken noodle soup recipe and found one with five stars and great reviews.  This soup also included a recipe to make your own broth. Awesome right? Wrong. This chicken broth was quite possibly the worst broth I ever tasted. No lie. It wasn't too watery, or lacking in flavor - the flavor was just off.

Looking back on it, the soup would have been great with some store bought chicken broth or a different broth recipe. The chicken, vegetables and noodles were all amazing. It was the broth that ruined it all.

I've revised the recipe to solve the broth problem. I recommend using canned chicken broth and a rotisserie chicken. Stay tuned for a future post all about broths: chicken, beef and vegetable.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 medium carrots, sliced into 1/2 inch. pieces

2 celery stalks, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2 inch. slices

4 fresh thyme sprigs

1 bay leaf

2 quarts of canned chicken broth

8 oz. dried wide egg noodles

1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken (I recommend rotisserie chicken)

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

1 handfull fresh parsley, finely chopped

In a medium stock pot heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, carrots, celery, thyme, and bay leaf. Cook the vegetables for about 6 minutes until they are softened.

Once softened, pour the chicken broth into the stock pot and bring it to a boil. Add the egg noodles to the stock pot and cook according to the package, about 5 minutes.

After about 5 minutes, stir in shredded chicken and continue to simmer for a few more minutes to heat through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with cilantro before serving. 

'Till next time,

Caroline