Creamy Tuscan Chicken Soup

My favourite chicken soup right now! Creamy broth, juicy small pieces of chicken, sun-dried tomato sprinkled on top, spaghetti shells, and swirls of spinach are what I eat in place of croutons. Consider this: in the Tuscan sun. Save for – food for jumper weather!

Ingredients For Creamy Tuscan Chicken Soup

1. Skinless, boneless chicken thighs weighing 500 g/1 lb (Note 1 for breast)
2. 1/2 tsp of pepper and salt, each

Soup:

1. 30g/2 tbsp unsalted butter
2. 1 finely chopped onion
3. 2 minced garlic cloves
4. 2 large celery stems thinly sliced (substitute 2 carrots)
5. 1/2 cup dry white wine such as chardonnay, optional
6. Four cups low-sodium chicken stock or broth
7. Three cups water
8. One tsp kosher or cooking salt
9. Two tsp black pepper
10. Eight ounces (250 g) of small pasta shells (or other small pasta, rice, potato, etc.
11. 1 cup (sightly packed) finely grated Parmesan cheese or pre-grated (sandy variety) from the supermarket
12. 1 cup heavy or thickened cream
13. 2 packed cups baby spinach, chopped kale or something similar
14. 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
15. CORNFLOUR SLURRY (SOUP THICKENER): 2 tsp cornflour/cornstarch combined with 2 tsp water

Instructions For Creamy Tuscan Chicken Soup

1. Season the outside of the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. In a big pot over medium-high heat, melt the butter. When frothy, add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes on the first side, or until light golden, then 2 minutes on the second side. It’s okay if the chicken is still raw inside; it will cook more on the second side. Transfer to a plate.
2. Reduce the heat to medium-low and prepare the soup base. In the same saucepan, add the garlic, onion, and celery. Cook for 3 minutes, or until the onion is tender.
3. Deglaze: Increase the heat to high, pour in the wine, stir, and simmer until the wine has reduced by half.
4. Pasta and broth: Stir in water, salt, and pepper. After bringing to a boil, mix in the pasta. Cook for the recommended amount of time (around 10 minutes), stirring periodically to prevent the spaghetti from sticking to the pot’s bottom.
5. Partially add chicken. Dice the chicken into 1.5cm / 1/2″ pieces and add it to the saucepan to complete cooking while the pasta cooks.
   Once the pasta is cooked, finish the soup by reducing the heat to low. Add parmesan and stir until melted. Add the cream, spinach, and cornflour-water mixture and stir. Stir until spinach wilts and soup gradually thickens, about 1 minute.
6. Ladle into bowls to serve. Add sun-dried tomato strips on top (a little oil on top looks good too). Consume!

Storage: To prevent bloating, keep the soup and pasta separate in the refrigerator. Simply use a slotted spoon to scoop out. (Aside 6)