Tuscan Chicken and Spinach Soup with Pesto

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
I made this using some cooked chicken leg quarters and pesto that I'd made with my garden basil in the Fall.

ABSOLUTELY delicious! A keeper! The pesto makes it special!

I had a larger bag of baby spinach, and I used 2 cans of cannolini beans.

Lee


http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/252453/chicken-spinach-soup-with-fresh-pesto/print/

Chicken & Spinach Soup with Fresh Pesto




30 m

Recipe By: EatingWell Test Kitchen “This fragrant, Italian-flavored soup takes advantage of quick-cooking ingredients—boneless, skinless chicken breast, bagged baby spinach and canned beans. It features a simple homemade basil pesto swirled in at the end to add a fresh herb flavor. If you are very pressed for time, you can substitute 3 to 4 tablespoons of a store-bought basil pesto. Recipe by Nancy Baggett for EatingWell.”
Ingredients
·
o 2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
o ½ cup carrot or diced red bell pepper
o 1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 8 ounces), cut into quarters
o 1 large clove garlic, minced
o 5 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
o 1½ teaspoons dried marjoram
·
o 6 ounces baby spinach, coarsely chopped
o 1 15-ounce can cannellini beans or great northern beans, rinsed
o ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
o ⅓ cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
o Freshly ground pepper to taste
o ¾ cup plain or herbed multigrain croutons for garnish (optional)
Directions
· 1 Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add carrot (or bell pepper) and chicken; cook, turning the chicken and stirring frequently, until the chicken begins to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute more. Stir in broth and marjoram; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
· 2 With a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken pieces to a clean cutting board to cool. Add spinach and beans to the pot and bring to a gentle boil. Cook for 5 minutes to blend the flavors.
· 3 Combine the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, Parmesan and basil in a food processor (a mini processor works well). Process until a coarse paste forms, adding a little water and scraping down the sides as necessary.
· 4 Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Stir the chicken and pesto into the pot. Season with pepper. Heat until hot. Garnish with croutons, if desired.
Tuscan chicken soup.JPG
 
Last edited:

Dogboa

Active member
Gotta love Italian style soup. We keep the rinds from the PR just to throw into soups and some sauces. We call them parmesan bones.
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Made this again tonight, and drizzled a bit of the truffle oil that a friend brought me from Italy - ambrosia! It gave an already-delicious soup even more umami!

Served with Greek salad (forgot the olives!)

Lee

Soup.jpeg
 

rickismom

Low Carb Home Cook
Site Supporter
I made this using some cooked chicken leg quarters and pesto that I'd made with my garden basil in the Fall.

ABSOLUTELY delicious! A keeper! The pesto makes it special!

I had a larger bag of baby spinach, and I used 2 cans of cannolini beans.

Lee


http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/252453/chicken-spinach-soup-with-fresh-pesto/print/

Chicken & Spinach Soup with Fresh Pesto




30 m

Recipe By: EatingWell Test Kitchen “This fragrant, Italian-flavored soup takes advantage of quick-cooking ingredients—boneless, skinless chicken breast, bagged baby spinach and canned beans. It features a simple homemade basil pesto swirled in at the end to add a fresh herb flavor. If you are very pressed for time, you can substitute 3 to 4 tablespoons of a store-bought basil pesto. Recipe by Nancy Baggett for EatingWell.”
Ingredients
·
o 2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
o ½ cup carrot or diced red bell pepper
o 1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 8 ounces), cut into quarters
o 1 large clove garlic, minced
o 5 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
o 1½ teaspoons dried marjoram
·
o 6 ounces baby spinach, coarsely chopped
o 1 15-ounce can cannellini beans or great northern beans, rinsed
o ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
o ⅓ cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
o Freshly ground pepper to taste
o ¾ cup plain or herbed multigrain croutons for garnish (optional)
Directions
· 1 Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add carrot (or bell pepper) and chicken; cook, turning the chicken and stirring frequently, until the chicken begins to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute more. Stir in broth and marjoram; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
· 2 With a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken pieces to a clean cutting board to cool. Add spinach and beans to the pot and bring to a gentle boil. Cook for 5 minutes to blend the flavors.
· 3 Combine the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, Parmesan and basil in a food processor (a mini processor works well). Process until a coarse paste forms, adding a little water and scraping down the sides as necessary.
· 4 Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Stir the chicken and pesto into the pot. Season with pepper. Heat until hot. Garnish with croutons, if desired.
View attachment 22878
This looks awesome and will work with my diet ☺️
 
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