Our weather here in Jacksonville is so strange. One day, it is smothering hot, the next, it is cool. It must be coastal living. Today, because it is cool, my mind has turned towards soups. Here are a couple of easy Italian soup recipes you will love.
White Bean Chicken Soup
For this recipe, you will need four boneless chicken breasts, celery, carrots, one small onion, garlic cloves, chicken broth, olive oil, fresh parsley, one hot chili pepper (optional), cannelloni beans (or other white beans), and instant polenta.
Cut your chicken breast into 1 1/2 strips. Slice three stalks of celery and two large carrots. Dice the small onion and chop the bunch of parsley. If you decided to include the hot chili pepper in your soup, chop that too.
Add the chicken strips to a large pot with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and let that cook until done. Remove the chicken and add in the chopped celery, carrots, and onion. Cook until soft then add 4 cups of chicken broth, 2 cloves of minced garlic, the hot chili pepper, and salt and pepper. Let that cook over low heat for 30 minutes. Add the chicken, white beans (drained), and parsley to the pot. Stir well and add 1/4 cup of polenta to thicken. This is great with a side salad.
Tortellini Soup
This one is super quick and easy. For this recipe, you will need chicken broth (8 cups worth), prepackaged cheese-filled tortellini, fresh baby spinach, carrots, one tomato, grated parmesan cheese, and fresh basil.
Heat the 8 cups of chicken broth in a large pot over medium heat. While that is heating, thinly slice the carrots and dice the tomato – enough for one cup of each. Add one cup of sliced carrots, one cup of diced tomatoes, and the cheese-filled tortellini to the broth. Allow this to cook for about 10 minutes or until the pasta is done. Add the baby spinach and let it cook about five more minutes. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top before serving and garnish with fresh basil.