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Creamy Chicken and Lentil Soup
Although I'm totally a summer girl, I think cooking is so much better in the fall and winter. This soup is so hearty and delicious; I love the mixture of vegetables, the roasted chicken, and the creamy lentils. The base of the soup is a rich combination of tomato, white wine, and chicken stock with a splash of milk for creaminess. Homemade chicken stock will really give the soup a great flavor, but don't fret if you don't have any, just make sure to use a low-sodium store bought broth so you can add your own seasoning to it.
Start by brushing two boneless, skinless chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkling them with salt and pepper. Place them in a baking dish and cover with foil, then roast them in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. While they cook, prep the vegetables by dicing three carrots, three ribs of celery, and a white onion. Mince two cloves of garlic as well. When the chicken is done, set it aside to cool.
Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large pot or dutch oven and add the carrots, onions and celery. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and sauté for 8-10 minutes until they start to soften.
Add the garlic as well as some dried basil and a bay leaf and cook for another minute.
Scoop in five heaping tablespoons of tomato paste and stir to combine with the vegetables, cooking for another five minutes.
Delgaze the pan with 1/2 cup of white wine, a tablespoon of soy sauce, and a teaspoon of hot sauce. The soy sauce is definitely the secret ingredient here - it adds a salty, rich, umami flavor to the soup that you can't get from anything else.
Stir the wine and soy sauce into the tomato paste and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
Pour in six cups of chicken stock or broth, then bring the soup to a boil. Add in 1/4 cup of pastina or other small pasta, such as orzo or tubetini.
While the pasta cooks, take the cooked and cooled chicken and use two forks to shred it into big chunks. Add it to the soup.
Once the pasta is cooked, stir in a bunch of freshly chopped parsley, one 15.5 ounce can of drained and rinsed lentils, and a cup of milk. Stir everything together and taste the soup. Add salt and pepper as needed - it really depends on what kind of chicken stock you use and how salty it is. I use unsalted, homemade stock which requires about a tablespoon of salt and a teaspoon of pepper, but low-sodium broth would require a bit less salt.
I like to serve the soup topped with a drizzle of fresh olive oil, cracked black pepper, and more fresh parsley. It's amazing on it's own or with a piece of toasty garlic bread.
Recipe:
Total Time: 1 hour| Serves: 4-6
Ingredients:
4 tbs olive oil, divided
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Kosher salt and black pepper
3 carrots, diced
3 ribs of celery, diced
1 white onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried basil
5 heaping tablespoons of tomato paste
1/2 cup white wine
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp hot sauce
6 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup pastina or other small pasta, such as tubetini or orzo
1/4 fresh chopped parsley
1 15.5 oz can of lentils, rinsed and drained
1 cup whole milk or half and half
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Brush the chicken breasts with a tablespoon of olive oil each, and sprinkle them liberally with salt and pepper. Place them in a baking dish covered with foil and roast for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
2. Heat the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large pot or dutch oven. Add the carrots, celery, and onion along with a teaspoon of salt and pepper and sauté for about 8 minutes until the vegetables start to soften.
3. Add the garlic, bay leaf and dried basil and cook for another minute.
4. Stir in the tomato paste to combine it with the vegetables and allow it to cook for another 3-5 minutes. Some browned bits will start to develop on the bottom of the pot.
5. Combine the white wine, soy sauce, and hot sauce and then pour the mixture into the pot. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up the bits from the bottom as you add the wine mixture.
6. Add the chicken stock and bring everything to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for 5-6 minutes until al dente.
7. While the pasta cooks, shred the cooked and cooled chicken breasts into large chunks with two forks.
8. Once the pasta is cooked, stir the chicken, parsley, lentils, and milk into the pot. Serve hot topped with extra parsley and olive oil.