I love chicken noodle soup because it’s a great medium for eating dozens of garlic cloves. But sometimes soup can feel heavy, especially in winter when we’re already feeling heavy, so I wanted to lighten and freshen up my classic chicken soup recipe. I did this by adding fresh pesto- yum!!! I also threw in some scallions which to me, always add a sharp, brightness.
Difficult level: Easy
Total time: 45 minutes
Serves: 4 - 6
You’ll need:
6 cups store bought chicken stock (or make your own if you have the time!)
1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded (I boil my chicken but you could also bake it)
10 cloves garlic, sliced
1 can cannellini beans, drained
2- 3 scallions, chopped
Microgreens (I used microbasil) for garnish
1 batch fresh pesto: In a food processor combine 4 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves, 1/2 cup parsley leaves, 1/2 cup pine nuts, 1 cloves garlic, 2/3 cup grated Parmesan or Romano and 1/2 - 3/4 cup olive oil. You can start with 1/2 cup oil and add more to get it to your perfect pesto consistency.
Let’s do it!
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Coat the bottom of a large stockpot with a slim layer of olive oil. Heat over medium high heat then add sliced garlic. Cook for 1 - 2 minutes just to activate it, you will start to smell it and then you can move on. You definitely don’t want to burn it because this is the basis of the soup.
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Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Then add the chicken and white beans and cook for 3 - 4 minutes just to heat the ingredients thoroughly.
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Remove from heat and distribute evenly into bowls. To serve, add a tablespoon of pesto, a handful of scallions and a pinch of microgreens.
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You’ll likely have a lot of pesto so add as much as you like to each portion or save it for other purposes. You can always use pesto :)