Chicken Florentine Soup —rsquo; The Meal That Proved Good Food Doesn’t Have to Be Expensive

The furlough got worse. My manager called Thursday: the company is reducing the sales force. Not firing — "restructuring." My hours are cut to three days a week. The paycheck drops another twenty percent. I'm now making sixty percent of what I was making before the pandemic. The math is grim: mortgage, truck, insurance, food, Ma's medications (I supplement what Medicare doesn't cover). The numbers work if nothing unexpected happens. In a pandemic, everything unexpected happens. I thought about calling the real estate investor and breaking the lease. The restaurant is a fantasy I can't afford. The build-out costs I've already invested — $8,000 in equipment, paint, flooring — are sunk. Walking away means losing that money and the dream. I didn't call. Because Hector said something on the phone that stopped me: "Bobby, the pandemic will end. The restaurant will still be there. Don't give up the thing you were building because the world got in the way." The world got in the way. That's an understatement. The world threw a pandemic at my restaurant dream the way the Gulf threw a storm at my shrimp boat. But I survived the storm. I'll survive this. The Instagram income is helping. Not a lot — but Lily figured out how to monetize the account through brand partnerships and sponsored posts. A fish sauce brand reached out: would Bobby Tran BBQ post a recipe featuring their product? Payment: $500 per post. Lily negotiated it to $750. She's fourteen and she's negotiating brand deals. I signed the contract because $750 buys a lot of groceries. Emma's video content is generating additional income through a platform I don't understand but which pays per view. She's making roughly $300 per month from cooking videos. Sixteen years old, making money from teaching people to cook on the internet. My daughter is a content creator. I'm not entirely sure what that means but it's working. Made a budget meal this week: ca ri ga — the Vietnamese chicken curry. Chicken thighs (the cheapest cut), coconut milk, sweet potato, curry powder, lemongrass. Feeds six for under $12. The kids ate it with baguette and didn't know it was a budget meal because good food doesn't have to be expensive. Good food doesn't have to be expensive. I've been saying this for four years. The pandemic is proving it.

When Hector told me not to give up the thing I was building, I went home and made soup — because that’s what I do when the math is grim and the walls feel close. Chicken Florentine Soup is the kind of meal that costs almost nothing, looks like you tried hard, and sits warm in your stomach the way a good conversation does. The kids cleaned their bowls and asked for seconds, and for a few minutes around that table, sixty percent of a paycheck felt like enough.

Chicken Florentine Soup

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 50 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
3 cups fresh baby spinach, loosely packed
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
Crusty bread or baguette, for serving

Instructions

Brown the chicken. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat. Add the chicken pieces in a single layer, season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook without stirring for 3–4 minutes until golden on one side. Flip and cook another 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate — the chicken does not need to be cooked through at this stage.
Build the base. Reduce heat to medium and melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in the same pot. Add the diced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes until softened and translucent. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
Make the roux. Sprinkle the flour over the onion and garlic mixture and stir constantly for 1 1/2 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. The mixture will look thick and paste-like — that’s what you want.
Add the liquids. Slowly pour in the chicken broth, whisking as you go to prevent lumps. Add the heavy cream, drained diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat.
Return the chicken. Add the browned chicken pieces back to the pot along with any juices that collected on the plate. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover, and simmer for 18–20 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked through and the broth has thickened slightly.
Finish with spinach and Parmesan. Stir in the baby spinach in two or three handfuls, letting each addition wilt before adding the next — this takes about 2 minutes total. Remove from heat and stir in the grated Parmesan until melted and smooth. Taste and adjust salt as needed.
Serve. Ladle into bowls and top with extra Parmesan. Serve immediately with thick slices of crusty baguette or bread for dipping.

Nutrition (per serving)

Chicken Florentine Soup —rsquo; The Meal That Proved Good Food Doesn&rsquo;t Have to Be Expensive