Soups on!
A good soup recipe is something I’m always up for trying. Growing up I remember delicious stews and chilis but those are really the only soups I remember. My grandmothers chili was great and I always loved how small she could get her ground beef chopped up. She must have stood for an hour making it. My mothers chili started with Chili-O seasoning pack and then she added her own ingredients. Now when it comes to my chili my husband use to say it never tasted the same twice. Over the years the only chili I have been able to make and like is using Wick Fowler’s 2 Alarm Chili seasoning; and of course I like beans and a bunch of other add ons to my chili.
What’s good about making a good chicken soup is that you can add just about any vegetable to it and it will be delicious. Even though we are having a cold front here in my part of Texas right now, Spring isn’t far away and asparagus will be plentiful in the grocery. Of course we can get asparagus years around but something about Spring makes me start thinking of asparagus recipes.
The pasta I used in this soup was bought in Canada on a trip a few years ago and I was wondering at the time what kind of sauce I would use with it — duh — must have had a brain freeze because this pasta is made for soups. If you can’t find this particular pasta, just break up some fettuccini into small pieces or another other small pasta; only a handful is needed.
Speaking of soups/chili we had taco salad last night and I always add a can of drained and rinsed beans to the meat SO instead of eating taco salad for a couple of nights I’m turning it into a pot of chili and adding an extra can of beans and will probably serve some toppings of grated cheese, raw white onions, and some macaroni — yum, I can hardly wait.
If you have a favorite recipe for a soup, I’d like to hear about it. Enjoy a good soup on a cold evening.
BLAST FROM THE PAST: I love this Souffled French Onion Soup. I first tasted this at the CIA in Napa, CA and knew I had to try and make it. My souffle never fell and I think that was because the steaming onion soup underneath kept the soufflé puffed and it was much better than trying to eat your way through a piece of puffed pastry some restaurants use.
I had cooked chicken in my freezer so that made this stew quick to throw together. Love those tiny past squares for soup.
To make the little flowers use a channel knife if you have one and run down the sides of the peeled carrots and then cut into thin slices making the little flower shapes. I couldn’t live without my channel knife which is also great for make garnishes for cocktails.
Get your tomatoes , cut the kernels off the corn and cut the asparagus into about 1″ pieces.
After the onions and celery have sauteed (see recipe below) and you have added the broth, stir in your chicken, potatoes and carrots and seasonings.
When you get to this stage of the recipe, towards the end of the potatoes and carrots getting tender, you will add the asparagus. I added mine a little early and it got a little darker than I wanted.
Isn’t this the perfect pasta for soup?
The asparagus was great in this soup but I think some chopped up fresh green beans would be just as good.
Bon Appetit! Serve with a nice cornbread or even some good saltine crackers.
Chicken, Asparagus and Pasta Soup
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken boiled and deboned, save broth
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 c. thinly sliced celery
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 c. thinly sliced carrots
- 1-2 potatoes small dice
- 1-2 ear corn kernels cut from cob
- 1 bunch asparagus sliced in 1/2" pieces
- 1/2 c. green onion thinly sliced
- 2-3 garlic cloves finely minced
- 1 c. very small pasta squares*
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 6 c. chicken broth or more
- 2-3 c. chopped cooked chicken
- chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Have your chicken cooked in advance and save the broth for the soup.
- On medium, heat the olive oil in a 5-6 quart soup pot. Add the onion and celery and garlic and saute until the onion is almost translucent. Add in the chicken broth (you may want to add in more later as the potatoes and pasta soak up some of the broth.) Add the potatoes and simmer about 15 minutes. When the potatoes are almost done add in the carrots and pasta and cook for another 10 minutes.
- Add the chopped chicken (as much as you want) and the asparagus and continue to cook for 5-6 minutes longer. Salt and pepper to taste. Add in the sliced green onions and ladle into bowls and garnish with chopped parsley.
Recipe Notes
Note: If you can find the pasta I used here you can either take some fettucini and break into small pieces or use a very small shell macaroni.
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