035 Copycat Olive Garden Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

According to our local weatherman, today will be the coldest day of the week, followed by weather in the 50s and 60s all through Sunday. I'm pretty excited for having non-arctic-like temperatures for the next few days, but (Heaven forbid) I think I'm also going to miss the cold. I like wearing leggings and sweaters and eating potatoes and having a completely legitimately excuse to not go out to exercise - ha. Knowing Northwest Arkansas, we'll probably be back to snow storms next week. But just in case, I wanted to squeeze in a soup recipe before we lose winter.

I'm a big shameless fan of Olive Garden. I know, I know - it's not "real" Italian food. It's probably like calling OK China real Chinese food, but I love Americanized versions of all things because I am a patriot. I had a craving for their chicken and gnocchi soup the other evening, but didn't want to leave the comfort of my apartment so I decided to try and recreate it at home. I found a version on Pinterest, so enjoy my attempt below!

As always, the first thing you need is ingredients.

All fresh errrthing. Or most things.

Oops. Forgot to picture these guys. Only missed the most
important ingredient - gnocchi - in the first picture. I'm smart!

Saute the chicken breasts in a large pot over medium heat. I used pre-grilled sliced chicken strips, so I just heated them up in the pan. If cooking from fresh, you'll want to cook until mostly done (very little pink showing). Season with a little salt and pepper.

The chicken should be diced! I may or may not have cut up
the chicken in the pot after already starting to cook it... #ghetto

In the meantime, prep the other fresh ingredients (onion, celery, and carrots) slicing and dicing where necessary.

Add the butter to the pot, and then add the onion, celery, carrots, and garlic. 

So good!

The recipe I found was very vegetable-heavy, which I like, but you can reduce the amount of vegetables by about a third if you prefer a "soupier" soup.

Add the flour to absorb the butter and form a roux. Then add the half & half and the chicken broth.

Starts smelling really yummy at this point.

Allow the soup to come to a boil, and let it simmer while you prepare your gnocchi. To do this, you boil a pot of water and slowly add the pasta. You should only have to cook it for about 3 minutes - the gnocchi will float when it is done (if only all pasta were like that, right?).

The gnocchi I bought was made of potatoes, which seriously perplexed Clint. "POTATO PASTA WHAT IS THIS SORCERY?!"

Drain the gnocchi when done, and set aside. Then, chiffonade the spinach. I learned that word while making this recipe. It means to "shred or finely cut leaf vegetables, often used as a garnish for soup". Behold, my chiffonade-ded spinach!

Fancy.

When ready to eat, add the spinach, thyme, and cooked gnocchi to the soup. Taste, and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Stir, and serve immediately.

Pretty close, methinks.

Here is the recipe for your convenience, slightly adapted from Dessert Now, Dinner Later's Copycat Olive Garden Chicken and Gnocchi Soup.

Yield: 4 servings

Nutrition: 256 calories/serving

Ingredients:

    3 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes

    1 tbsp olive oil

    2 tbsp light butter

    1/2 medium onion, diced

    1/2 cup celery, diced

    1/2 cup carrots, diced

    1/2 tsp minced garlic

    1 1/2 tbsp flour

    1/2 quart (2 cups) fat-free half & half

    1 cup low sodium chicken broth

    1/2 cup fresh spinach

    1 tsp dried thyme

    salt to taste

    pepper to taste

    1 cup gnocchi

Instructions:

1. Heat olive oil in large pot over medium heat, and cook chicken breasts. If cooking from fresh, cook until mostly done (very little pink showing). Season with a little salt and pepper.
2. Prep the vegetables. Add butter to the large pot with chicken until melted, then add the onion, celery, carrots, and garlic. Cook until the onion is translucent. 
3. Add flour to the mixture to soak up the additional liquid from the butter. This will form a roux. Stir well.
4. Add the half & half and chicken broth to the pot. Allow to come to a boil, and then lower the heat to let it simmer.
5. Prepare the gnocchi according to instructions. It should take about 2-3 minutes to cook completely. Finished gnocchi will float to the top. Drain and set aside.
6. Chiffonade the spinach. Then, add the the spinach, thyme, and cooked gnocchi to the soup. 
7. Stir and season with salt and pepper as necessary.
8. Serve immediately.
9. Enjoy! :)

Nutritional Information from MyFitnessPal: