Tuscan Style Chicken Soup

Tuscan Style Chicken Soup - a hearty soup with veggies and beans to warm up your belly!

Course Dinner

Cuisine Italian

Keyword autumn, bowl food

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1

Servings 4 servings

Author Nicky Corbishley

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
2 sprigs fresh thyme or ½ tsp dried thyme
1 stick of celery sliced
2 medium carrots peeled and chopped
2 medium potatoes peeled and diced
1 litre good-quality chicken stock (ideally homemade, but water with stock cubes will work too. Use water plus bouillon for gluten free)
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
400 g cooked cannellini beans washed and drained
2 skinless cooked chicken breasts shredded
100 g chopped kale
Small bunch fresh parsley chopped
2 tbsp finely grated parmesan

To Serve:

Fresh thyme
Toasted granary bread to serve gluten free if required - Warburtons Newburn Bakehouse Seeded is a good one

UK (metric) - **Convert to US Measures**

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and cook for 10 minutes on a low-medium heat, stirring occasionally until softened.
Add the garlic and thyme and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add the celery, carrots and potatoes, stir, then add in the chicken stock, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes.
Add in the drained cannellini beans and cook for a further 5 minutes
Add the shredded chicken and heat through for 2-3 minutes, then add the kale. Stir and simmer for 1-2 minutes until the kale has wilted. Test and season with more salt and pepper if needed.
Divide between four bowls, topped with fresh parsley, grated parmesan and a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme. Serve with some toasted granary bread.

Notes

Can I make it gluten free?

Yes – use gluten free stock and serve with gluten free bread.

Can I make it ahead?

The kale won't be quite as vibrant, but yes, you can make this soup ahead. Make the soup, then quickly cool, cover and refrigerate for up to 2-3 days. Reheat in a pan until piping hot before serving.

Will it freeze?

Yes! Make the soup, then quickly cool, cover and freeze. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat in a pan until piping hot before serving.

Other modifications:

Stir in chunks of slightly stale bread (like a Ribollita soup) about 15 minutes before the soup is done. This will thicken the soup.
Make it a vegetarian version, leaving out the chicken and using a really good quality vegetarian stock. You'll also need to replace the parmesan with vegetarian Italian-style hard cheese.
Replace the cannellini beans with tinned chickpeas or butter beans (lima beans)
Add extra veggies or replace with different veggies – such as leeks or mushrooms.
Stir in a couple of tablespoons of double (heavy) cream and a squeeze of lemon juice at the end, for a creamy version.

Nutritional information is per serving.

Nutritional Information

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