I’m on quite the gnocchi kick lately. Can you tell? I go through obsessive phases, and this is just one of them. I’m sure it will dwindle out in a couple of weeks, but for the time being, I’m embracing all kinds of new ways to prepare gnocchi. Besides the normal douse gnocchi in sauce and treat it as pasta type of recipe, I’ve decided to throw it in a soup…a slow cooker soup at that. It has been a long weekend (I will get into it in a moment), and I wanted something simple and easy for Sunday supper. If you can even call it supper, I think we ate dinner yesterday at 4 pm. I know, I’m totally 95 when it comes to dinner. This slow cooker parmesan and tomato soup with gnocchi and chicken is the perfect meal for autumn months!
So, about this long weekend of ours. It was Great American Beer Festival weekend, and if you don’t know much about it then click here. That should fill you in a bit.
To break things down just a bit for ya, just imagine over 700 breweries packed into one of Denver’s largest venues, and then imagine these 700 breweries pouring 3000+ different types of beer. That about sums it up. This year we embraced the whole weekend and attended the Farm to Table Pavilion, where they specialize in pairing food and beer…foie gras and oysters on the half shell anyone? Yes, there was foie gras…and duck…and octopus…etc…It was amazing, and I’m still having dreams about it. If you are a new reader and this is confusing to you, just check out the name of my website. ;)
I’m still recovering. I’m still extremely tired, and I need a detox BADLY. It was totally worth it though, and I’m sure I’ll put myself through it again, year after year, as long as I live in the area.
I wouldn’t go ahead and say that this soup is my way of detoxing. It was delicious of course, but I’m sure there are more efficient ways out there to detoxify. I will start that today…
…Don’t hold me to that…but I’m sure as heck going to try…
I hope you guys had a fabulous weekend! Here’s the recipe! Make it!
Ingredients
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 5 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 28- ounce can whole plum tomatoes sauce included
- 1 15- ounce can tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil chopped finely
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup half and half
- 3 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 cup parmesan cheese finely grated
- 1 16- ounce package gnocchi cooked per manufacturer's instructions
- 2 cups fully-cooked chicken breasted shredded
- shaved parmesan and chopped basil for garnish
Instructions
- To your slow cooker, add yellow onion, garlic, tomatoes, tomato sauce, basil, granulated sugar, salt, pepper, half and half, and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours, stirring every hour or so.
- Once cooked, transfer the soup to a blender and blend until completely smooth. Be careful, as the soup will be hot. Cover the blender with a towel and hold as you blend. Transfer back to the slow cooker. Keep the heat set on low.
- Prepare a roux, by melting the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Sprinkle on the flour and whisk until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Whisk in the milk and continue to whisk until no lumps of flour remain and the mixture is thick.
- Add the roux to the slow cooker, and whisk until fully incorporated. Add the grated parmesan cheese, and cover. Cook for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.
- Add the cooked gnocchi and chicken and stir to combine. Serve immediately with shaved parmesan and chopped basil.
- Note: If you plan on reheating the soup, I suggest serving the gnocchi individually by placing a small amount in each bowl and then pouring the soup over top. The gnocchi tends to get gummy if it sits in the soup and will not reheat as well. You may still add the chicken to the entire pot of soup.
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15 Comments
You must have been in beer heaven! Sounds like fun. This soup sounds delicious! I love gnocchi. Such a great idea to add it to soup!
Haha, I totally was! Thanks, girl!
Do you think you could just add the chicken at the beginning and shred it?
I definitely think you could do that, Jackie! Let me know how it works out for you!
I just had to tell you what a fabulous recipe this is! I’m so glad I stumbled upon it! ALL 3 of my kids ate it and asked for seconds . . . a true miracle! The tomato soup alone is perfect-better than any restaurant! We love gnocchi so that made it even better. I’m vegetarian so I used veggie broth, doubled the gnocchi and left out the chicken (though my hubby would have liked me to leave the chicken I’m sure :)) Anyway, I rarely post comments on things, but this was so good that I just had to let you know how much it was enjoyed. It is definitely a new family favorite!
Hi Jen! Your comment seriously made my day. In fact, it may have made my whole weekend. I am so happy you and your family enjoyed it and that you were able to adapt it to your liking. Thank you so much for trying the recipe, and have a wonderful weekend!
I’d love to try this recipe – would tomato soup be an ok substitute for the tomatoes and tomato sauce? Thanks!
I think that trying with tomato soup might be OK. It’s always worth a shot! I would make sure you taste test as you go along so it doesn’t get too acidic. You may also lose some of the texture by using soup (it will thin it out a bit), but I definitely think it is worth a shot! Let me know how it comes out!