COPYCAT ALERT! Olive Garden's Chicken Gnocchi Soup

(TasteofHome.com)

Well, now you get to meet fat Moxie, my tabby because it's as good an excuse as any to admit that today - perhaps today only, but I won't promise - I AM a copycat.

This is the recipe for Olive Garden's wonderful Chicken Gnocchi Soup that I um, snitched, from Taste of Home! (does that make me a "double copy" cat? Hmmm) I love this with breadsticks and Taste of Home tells us this is actually even better than the original. *Gardeners! You can probably get the onion, carrots, spinach, thyme and chives right from your garden space. These items are very easy to grow. Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter

• 1 small yellow onion, diced

• 1 cup carrot, shredded

• 1 cup celery, thinly sliced

• 4 cloves minced garlic

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked and cut in 1/2-inch pieces

• 1 cup heavy cream

• 5 cups chicken broth

• 1 package potato gnocchi, 16 ounces (bet you thought you had to make this, too! Nope!)

• 1 cup fresh spinach (do NOT use frozen)

• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme

• Salt and pepper

• Chives, sliced
  

Instructions: 1. In a Dutch oven, melt 1/4 cup butter. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic, plus a pinch of salt. Stir occasionally for 8 minutes until vegetables soften but still have a bite.

2. While vegetables are cooking, bring the chicken stock up to a simmer in a separate pot. THEN, make a roux. (ROUX: Don't you love classy words for a mix of flour and fat? We even sound gourmet) 3. Add flour to the vegetables and stir well for 1 minute. Gradually pour in the simmering stock, whisking constantly. The mixture will begin to thicken. Keep whisking for about 5 minutes.

4. Add the chicken and gnocchi and cook for another 5 minutes, continuing to stir.

5. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add cream, spinach and thyme, and mix well.

Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed. Served garnished with pepper and chives and enjoy!

6. EAT - or store it in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat on the stovetop with a splash of water or broth if needed.

How can you make this Olive Garden soup thicker?

This recipe uses a roux as the thickener, combining flour, butter and warm broth to do the heavy lifting. If you follow the recipe and use heavy cream, you’ll get the thick and creamy chicken soup of your dreams! Another way to thicken your soup is to use cornstarch as a thickener, whisking a tablespoon of cornstarch with some broth before whisking it into the simmering soup.

Don’t forget that your soup will thicken as it cooks, so you can always keep it simmering to thicken it to your liking. And whatever leftovers you have will thicken even more as they cool and set.