When I was young, we had a little boxed book set that I read often. I don’t know which of us the books belonged to, but I adored them. This classic set contained 3 mini books by Maurice Sendak. Alligators All Around was an alphabet book, One Was Johnny was a counting book, and Chicken Soup with Rice was a book of months. I attribute my lifelong fascination with alligators to reading Alligators All Around so many times as a child. I sympathized with Johnny, who also prefers alone time. And to this day, every time I think about chicken soup, I think about the chicken soup poem.
In Chicken Soup with Rice, the little boy in the story finds a way to enjoy chicken soup every month of the year. Each stanza of the poem ends with the action of the month (sippin’, blowin’, cookin’, etc.) being done once, then twice, then with chicken soup with rice. My version, “going once, going twice, going chicken soup with rice,” is not actually in Sendak’s book, but that’s to be expected since my chicken soup has gnocchi in it, not rice. I’m sure Maurice Sendak would have featured this chicken soup in his poem if he had found a suitable rhyme for gnocchi!
Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Chicken Soup with Gnocchi (adapted from purewow.com) Makes 6 servings in about an hour
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and diced
- 3 celery stalks, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 8 cups chicken broth
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
- 1 pound (2½ cups) shredded cooked chicken
- 16 ounces potato gnocchi
Directions:
In a large pot, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery, and sauté them until everything is tender, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté it until it is fragrant, about 1 minute more. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper.
Saute the veggies in the oil & butter.
Add the broth and bring the soup to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir in the cream and bay leaf. Simmer the soup for 20 to 25 minutes.
Remove and discard the bay leaf. Stir in the thyme, rosemary, parsley and chicken. Stir in the gnocchi and bring the soup back to a simmer. Cook until the gnocchi are tender, about 5 minutes.
Add the chicken, gnocchi, rosemary, thyme & parsley to the soup.
This soup will disappear fast!
Serve the soup warm, garnished with more parsley.
Chicken soup is getting an update! ~Linda
Chicken Soup with Gnocchi (adapted from purewow.com) Makes 6 servings in about an hour
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and diced
- 3 celery stalks, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 8 cups chicken broth
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
- 1 pound (2½ cups) shredded cooked chicken
- 16 ounces potato gnocchi
Directions:
In a large pot, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery, and sauté them until everything is tender, about 6 to 8 minutes.
Add the garlic and sauté it until it is fragrant, about 1 minute more. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper.
Add the broth and bring the soup to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir in the cream and bay leaf. Simmer the soup for 20 to 25 minutes.
Remove and discard the bay leaf. Stir in the thyme, rosemary, parsley and chicken. Stir in the gnocchi and bring the soup back to a simmer. Cook until the gnocchi are tender, about 5 minutes.
Serve the soup warm, garnished with more parsley.