Description
Home cooks adore this creamy chicken gnocchi delight recipe that blends Italian pasta traditions with rich, comforting flavors. Succulent chicken and pillowy gnocchi swim in a luxurious sauce, promising a memorable meal for hungry families.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 pound (454 g) cooked diced chicken meat
- 1 pound (454 g) fresh gnocchi
- 1 pound (454 g) yellow potatoes, peeled and diced into half-inch pieces
- 1 cup (237 ml) leeks, whites only, cleaned of sand and diced small
- 1 cup (237 ml) chopped fresh baby spinach, measured after chopping
- 6 cups (1.4 L) chicken stock or broth
- 2 cups (474 ml) half and half cream
- ¾ cup (177 ml) fresh carrots, peeled, shredded on large holes of a box grater
- ½ cup (118 ml) diced celery
- 2 tbsps butter
- 2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsps fresh garlic, minced fine
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp dry thyme
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp white pepper
- Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Instructions
- Soup Base Preparation: Combine chicken stock, potatoes, half the leeks, half the celery, carrots, and bay leaf in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes until potatoes become tender.
- Vegetable Sautéing: Heat butter and olive oil in a sauté pan. Add remaining leeks, celery, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper. Sauté for 3 minutes, then incorporate remaining carrots and remove from heat.
- Gnocchi Cooking: Boil salted water and cook gnocchi for exactly 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, reserving cooking liquid.
- Soup Transformation: Discard bay leaf and purée the potato mixture using an immersion blender until smooth and creamy.
- Final Assembly: Merge sautéed vegetables into the puréed base. Introduce gnocchi, half and half cream, cooked chicken, and a hint of nutmeg. Simmer on medium heat until gnocchi reach optimal tenderness.
- Finishing Touch: Gently fold in half the spinach, allowing it to wilt. Garnish with remaining fresh spinach before serving this luxurious soup.
Notes
- Potato Precision: Choose starchy potatoes like Russet for the smoothest, most velvety soup base texture.
- Gnocchi Timing: Cook gnocchi exactly 3 minutes to prevent becoming mushy or too firm; reserve cooking water for potential liquid adjustment.
- Cream Caution: Add half-and-half at low heat to prevent curdling and maintain silky soup consistency.
- Flavor Layering: Sauté vegetables before adding to soup base to enhance depth and complexity of overall dish’s taste profile.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Lunch
- Method: Sautéing
- Cuisine: Italian-American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 7
- Calories: 480
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 800 mg
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 45 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 28 g
- Cholesterol: 85 mg