Chicken and Gnocchi Soup with Spring Vegetables

Yum yum yuuuuum. I can't tell you enough how much I love this soup! 

It's my absolute favorite version of chicken soup especially because it's a celebration of spring vegetables - fennel, leeks... veggies that are way worth trying! I had previously been intimidated by both - but cleaning them is quite easy and you'll find they are great veggies to have in the fridge and ready to roast at a moment's notice. 

You Will Need

10 cups chicken broth

2 pounds boneless chicken breast

1/2 stick butter

6 tablespoons flour

1 large bulb fennel, trimmed and sliced

4 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 leek, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced

12 ounces gnocchi

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

juice from 1/2 lemon (about 1 1/2 tablespoons)

salt and pepper

Bring chicken broth to a boil in a large dutch oven and add chicken. Simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes. Remove chicken, saving broth in the same pot and cool. Shred chicken into bite sized pieces.

Bring broth back to a simmer.

In a small saucepan, melt butter. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking constantly for about 3 minutes. Add to simmering broth and cook for 5-10 minutes until slightly thickened.

Add chopped vegetables and simmer for 5 minutes. Add in gnocchi and simmer until gnocchi is soft. Add in chicken, lemon juice, and parsley and heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Yum Yum! So creamy and flavorful! Zach visited the B&B this weekend and requested an eggplant side, so I also put together a ratatouille - thinly sliced eggplant and squash on top of a layer of tomato puree, onions and garlic. 

And we made cookies too (of course)! Know that most people have to work up to visiting the B&B, much like the preparation required to survive a meal at Fogo De Chao. 

I got an ice cream scoop (finally) and making perfectly-sized cookies are a breeze now!

We used my favorite recipe for double chocolate chip cookies - super ooey gooey in the middle and just crispy enough on the outside to hold its shape. I sent Zach away with the leftover cookies, which is for the best because I would eat them nonstop... but I could totally go for 1 (or 5) right about now. 

Wherever you are cookies, I hope you end up in a good belly.