Italian Chicken & Vegetable Soup

I didn't really measure how much stock I used. Generally when I make stock, I fill up a big soup pot with water. I'm going to guesstimate at least a good 12 cups.

For the Stock:

I used the back/neck, & wings from a whole chicken. I had a dozen wing tips left from wings I made from another time.
1 onion, cut in four
The end of the celery bunch & leaves
2 carrots
3 cloves garlic
a few whole parsley sprigs
a few thyme sprigs
a few rosemary sprigs
a good amount of salt
Fill the pot with water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low & let simmer at least 5 hours. The longer, the better & richer the stock will be. Drain well.

While that simmers, boil 1-2 chicken breasts. I used bone in, you can use what you like. If you like dark meat, use dark. I skimmed off the top of the water and added the rest to the stock.  Shred the chicken and set aside.

Once the stock and chicken are done, in the big pot you used for the stock, add some olive oil, 2 carrots chopped 1 stalk of celery chopped salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, 3 cloves garlic minced and saute until tender. I let mine go a good 15 minutes. Once soft and translucent add in the chicken stock, a cheese end (if you have one). Tie together 6 sprigs of rosemary and the rind of 1 lemon and throw that in the pot. Add in the chicken as well. Bring the soup to a boil and reduce heat to low, let it simmer about 30 minutes. In a separate pot cook about 1 cup of macaroni. During the last five minutes of cooking throw in about 3 cups of spinach in the soup and give it a good stir. Take out the rosemary/lemon. When ready to serve add in a little macaroni and some soup and top it with broth. Squeeze in additional lemon juice if desired and sprinkle with Pecorino Romano Cheese. Enjoy!

Copyright © 2014 Salvo-lutions by, Dana Salvo