Chicken soup is simply comforting and delicious and it really doesn’t get much better than that. I always try to think of little twists on classic recipes and how I can add more nutrition to each meal. For the sake of creativity and diversity it’s always fun to change things around a bit.
Since we haven’t really had a winter in California this year, soups and stews weren’t found on our menu that often. So when we finally got a couple of chilly rainy days it was undeniably time to dust off the biggest cast iron pot and stir up some hearty nutritious soup.
Give this chicken soup a try sometimes, it is not your classic chicken noodle soup, but a fire roasted tomato broth with tons of added protein and fiber from the cannellini beans and loads of vitamins from the fresh greens and herbs mix.
Chicken Cannellini Bean Soup & Baby Greens
(Serves 8)
- 1/2 onion – diced
- 4 garlic cloves – minced
- 1 carrot – diced
- 1 celery stalk – diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper – diced
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small chicken cut into pieces
- 2 x 15 oz cans fire roasted tomatoes -diced
- 2 x 15 oz cans cannellini beans – drained
- 6 thyme sprigs
- 2 bay leaves
- 10 oz baby greens and herbs mix
- filtered water
- sea salt and black pepper to taste
1. In your largest heavy cast iron pot heat up the olive oil on small flame and saute the onion with a pinch of sea salt until translucent. Add the carrot and celery and saute a few more minutes until they start to soften. Stir in the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
2. Add the chicken pieces and sprinkle with a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper all over. Add the tomatoes, bell pepper, thyme and bay leaf to the pot and cover with water making sure to leave enough space at the top for the remaining ingredients. Bring the pot to a gentle simmer and cover with a tight lid. Allow to cook for 45 minutes.
3. After 45 minutes have passed stir in the beans and allow everything to simmer together for 10-15 minutes until the beans are heated through and the chicken is tender and falling off the bone. Adjust seasonings to your taste with salt and pepper and allow the soup to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
4. Just before serving the soup add the baby greens mix to wilt in the broth. You do not want to cook the greens simply let them wilt from the heat of the soup and serve immediately drizzled with a little extra virgin olive oil on top and crusty pieces of Bread.
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