WARNING: I’m afraid I’m going to be obsessed with soup this fall. I apologize in advance. Something about the recent lifting of the two-thousand degree weather has made me really excited about finally being able to eat hot food made in pots.
I made three soups last week, unsure of which one(s) I’d use for my cookbook and which one(s) I’d post here. Yesterday, I closed my eyes and picked one…and was so happy this was the one I landed on, as it’s the one I most wanted to share. It’s very loosely based on a classic soup from a chain Italian restaurant, but departs from it in several key ways…not the least of which is the addition of heavy cream, which adds richness to the soup without turning it into…well, a creamy soup. It really is the best of both worlds.
This is a delightful and delicious soup, but be aware that it’s kind of pot-heavy (meaning I’m going to drive you crazy saying “get another pot…get another pot”). It’s also one of those recipes that has a lot of “set-aside” steps along the way (meaning I’m going to drive you crazy saying “do this…then set aside.”) You’ll see what I mean.
Finally, to address an issue raised here a couple of weeks ago: I’m going to watch The Princess Bride for the first time ever this week.
Amen.
Throw the chicken into a pot and cover it with a bunch of chicken broth or stock. Bring it to a boil, then simmer it with the lid on for 30 minutes. After that, turn off the heat and let it sit in the pot for an additional thirty minutes.
After that, take the chicken out of the pot and shred all the meat. Get ridda the bones, but keep the broth that the chicken cooked in. Set this all aside. (This will not be the first time I say “set aside” in this post. Sorry.)
Meantime, cook the pasta. If you can find it, get this kind. I love it. It’s like macaroni without the curl, and half the size.
That made no sense.
Anyway, just cook the stuff ahead of time. Then rinse it with cold water and toss it with a little olive oil. I like this better than throwing the pasta in to cook with the soup, because I have deeply rooted issues and imagine that all the starchy stuff would fall into the soup, which it would, which is just fine for normal people who don’t have issues, but for me I just think of all the starch floating around in the soup.
Don’t be like me.
Another “set aside” item: mince up a bunch of oregano. Heat a little skillet over medium-high heat, then drizzle in some olive oil. Throw the oregano into the olive oil, then turn off the heat, stirring the oregano constantly for a good minute or so. Your kitchen will smell like oregano, and this concoction is going to make the soup so darn good, you’ll cry.
You can also use dried oregano flakes! Heating it up in the olive oil really awakens the flavor. If you’re using the dried stuff, though, use half the quantity since dried herbs are quite a bit stronger.
Next, dice up some onion and green bell pepper (I think red would be nice; I just didn’t have any)…
Some celery…
And some jalapeno for heat. You can leave this out if your family can’t HANDLE the spice, but after it’s all said and done, it really turns out to be nice and mild, with a little bit of spice.
I love jalapenos.
Set Aside Item #254: Chop up a can of whole tomatoes. Then set. Them aside.
Set aside, set aside, set aside-side-side
Set aside, set aside, set aside-side-side
Set aside, set aside, set aside-side-side
Set ASIDE
Set aside-side-side
I feel better now. I hope you do, too.
Throw all the veggies into a pot (sorry about all the different pots. you can plan ahead and reuse the same pot if you have the time) with a little olive oil, and saute them over medium-high heat.
Sprinkle in some salt and pepper…
Then cook ’em for about ten minutes, or until they’re tender and golden brown.
Next, pour in the chicken broth…
Then stir in the chicken…
The tomatoes…
The cooked pasta…
The heavy cream…
And all the oregano and olive oil from the little skillet. Look at that gorgeous oil. When you serve the soup, a little bit will rise to the surface of the soup and you’ll want to dip a big hunk of bread in it.
I speak from experience here.
Then throw in salt and pepper and simmer it just a few minutes to heat it all up.
Dish it up, then sprinkle on plenty of Parmesan cheese. Big, fat shavings are the best…but all I had was this pregrated stuff. And it was just fine.
Goodness gracious.
Great bowls of flavor.
(Get it?)
Yum, yum. Hooray for cooler weather! And hooray for soups that make your soul sing.
Enjoy!
Off to see what the Princess Bride passion is all about,
Pioneer Woman
