CHICKEN, WHITE BEAN AND PESTO SOUP

CHICKEN, WHITE BEAN AND PESTO SOUP image

Categories Soup/Stew Chicken Kid-Friendly Quick & Easy Dinner Healthy Simmer

Yield 6-8

Number Of Ingredients 18

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Ingredients

2 cups uncooked chicken breast
4 c vegetable broth
1 small can, white beans, either navy or cannelini
1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
4 carrots, coarsely chopped
4 celery sticks, coarsely chopped
2 c kale, chopped
1 small can stewed tomatoes (preferable fire-roasted with green chili)
1 tbls dried basil
¼ c grated pecorina romano or your favorite hard cheese
about 2 cups of water
Pesto
About a dozen fresh basil leaves, stems removed, rinsed and dried
1/3 c hulled pistachios
About ¼ c extra virgin olive oil
2 fresh garlic cloves, peeled and blanched.
The juice of one fresh lemon
*note - if you don't have a food processor, you can use a blender or a mortar and pestle.

Steps:

Heat a couple tbls of olive oil on medium heat in large skillet. Add chicken breast, cook for about five minutes until slightly browned. It's not necessary that the chicken is fully cooked at this point. Remove chicken from pan and set aside. To the heated pan, and in the same oil - add the onions, carrots and celery, and a little salt to taste. Cook for about 15-20 minutes until all the veggies become a little tender. Add the tomatoes, chicken broth, beans and kale - and you can now return the chicken to pan with everything else, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring all to a slight bowl and then turn the heat down to medium low. While the soup is simmering, it's time to start adding a little water. It's important to keep your eye on the amount of liquid vs. the veggies and the chicken as the soup cooks. If you like it less soupy, add less water. If you like a little more broth, you'll want to add more water. I added about 2 c of water. Cover loosely with a lid and let simmer for about another 20 minutes. Pesto While the soup is simmering, it's time to prepare the simple pesto. In a small food processor, add the basil, a couple tbls of the olive oil, and the pistachios. Process quickly so that everything just blends together to make a chunky and sort of thick paste. Put in a little bowl and have the lemon ready to squeeze into it when you're ready to serve the soup. Once the soup has simmered and is ready, use a slotted spoon to scoop out enough veggies, beans and chicken for one serving. Place in a single serving bowl. Now ladle out some of the broth and pour over the contents in the bowl. Put just enough broth so that the veggies and meat are above the broth. Now you're going to put a spoonful of the pesto on the top and give a quick stir. Remember to add the lemon before you do that. The lemon makes all the difference! If desired, top with freshly ground black pepper.