Chicken Gnocchi Soup

This is a great hearty soup which can be a great stand alone meal. I created this recipe after a combination of two things. First my grandfather loves eating at Olive Garden, he loves the soup and salad special. Second, the Stop N' Shop near me does a special on rotisserie chicken on Fridays were you get two large one for $11, very worth it. Now what does this have to do with soup? Easily I always have an extra chicken; they make great soup and after eating at Olive Garden I realized I could make there signature soup using it! So if your an Olive Garden fan or have extra chicken, this is the recipe for you.

Full time: 1 hour
Serves 6-8

You will need:

1 rotisserie chicken
1 package gnocchi, frozen or fresh
2 celery stalks, slice thin
1 large carrot, slice thin
1 small onion, diced fine
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

*1 cup finely sliced fresh spinach-if you want the perfect replica of Olive Garden soup

Let us being:

Just a quick note when I say the celery and carrot needs to be sliced thin, I mean very thin: the thickness of your knife is a great guide-see below photo.

In a large pot boil water and cook gnocchi according to package, drain and set aside.

In the same pot, without rinsing or cooling down, place olive oil, butter, celery, onion, and garlic.

Cook 5-8 minutes or until onions become translucent.

Sprinkle flour across top.

Stir well to fully coat vegetables and cook 1-2 minutes.

Slowly add in milk while stirring constantly. Cook 1-2 minutes.

Slowly add in cream while stirring constantly. Cook 4-5 minutes or until it becomes slightly thickened.

While this thickens. Cut your chicken into nice bite size pieces, remember to remove all skin as you go.

Once thickened, stir in chicken and carrot. Cook 5-8 minutes or until soup thickens again.

Add in broth and seasonings, stir well.

Cook 5-8 minutes or until it thickens again. It may take longer if your broth is colder than room temp.

Once nice and thick, reduce to simmer and add in gnocchi. If they have stuck together while they sat it is okay, just stir around for a bit and they will break apart.

Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove cover, watching out for steam, check seasoning level and adjust. If you are adding spinach so so now, stir and cook 1-2 minutes until it completely wilts into soup.

Plate in nice deep bowls and enjoy!