Spaceling Cafe

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April 09, 2006

Chicken, Meatball, White Bean, and Fennel Soup

I was puttering around the house this morning, mentally composing a grocery shopping list, and I decided that I wanted to have chicken soup for dinner. And I remembered that I had a bulb of fennel sitting in the crisper that I needed to use. So, I went to the store and started grabbing things that I thought would go well with fennel and chicken. The resulting soup is kind of a riot of vegetables and chicken and stuff. But it's very tasty.

The Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 package Aidells chicken and turkey meatballs with sundried tomatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 medium bulb of fennel, sliced
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 medium leeks, white and light green parts only, halved, thinly sliced, and well-washed
• 1 bunch kale, washed, stemmed, and roughly chopped
• 2 15 oz. cans cannelini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
• small handful of mixed fresh sage, rosemary, and marjoram, roughly chopped.
• 5 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 10 cups chicken broth or water (I used 8 cups broth + 2 cups water)

The Steps

1. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot. Add the fennel, leeks, celery, carrots, garlic, and herbs and cook, stirring, for 5-10 minutes, until the vegetables are starting to get translucent and everything smells amazing.
2. Add broth/water. Bring it to a slow simmer. While the broth is heating up, trim excess fat from the chicken thighs and season them with pepper.
3. When the broth is simmering, add the chicken thighs. Poach them for 20 minutes, being sure to keep the broth at a simmer and not letting it get to a full rolling boil.
4. Remove the chicken thighs to a plate. Add the tomatoes, beans, kale, and meatballs, and bring everything back to a simmer.
5. Shred the chicken. Return it to the pot and continue to simmer until the kale is fully cooked. (Perhaps another 15 minutes.)
6. Adjust seasoning, and serve

Makes a whole bunch of servings. It's a good thing I like this soup, because I have enough leftovers to last a while.

Posted by spaceling at April 9, 2006 12:04 AM

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