(Better Than Olive Garden) Chicken Gnocchi Soup -- The Bones Always Make the Best Part

The week after Thanksgiving is the quiet one — the house still smells like turkey, the leftovers are working their way through every meal, and the aggressive contentment of having fed everyone successfully is fading into the regular rhythm of pack lunches, drive to work, come home, cook again. I made turkey soup Monday from the carcass. Simmered the bones with celery, onion, carrot, and parsley for four hours, then added the leftover turkey meat, egg noodles, and a handful of frozen peas. It's the best thing about a Thanksgiving turkey — not the turkey itself but what comes after. The soup from the bones. The meal from the meal.

Kevin and I put up Christmas decorations Saturday. The kids helped, which means they hung ornaments at child-height and the bottom three feet of the tree looks like a pawn shop exploded, while the top is bare. I'll fix it later. Or I won't. The kids like it. Jack hung a construction paper ornament he made in kindergarten — a green circle with glitter and his name in wobbly letters — and he placed it front and center and stepped back to admire it like a curator at the Louvre.

Emma made a Christmas list. It is three pages long and includes a horse, a puppy, a kitten, a hamster, and "one of those big trampolines." She will receive none of these things. She will receive books and clothes and a doll she'll play with for two weeks and then forget. This is the annual ritual of childhood desire versus parental reality, and both sides play their parts with conviction.

I started my Christmas baking list. Every year, Marlene makes seven kinds of Christmas cookies and I've adopted the tradition, though I only manage five because I don't have Marlene's stamina or her oven. The lineup: chocolate chip (the State Fair recipe), sugar cookies with royal icing, snickerdoodles, peanut butter blossoms, and Russian tea cakes. Production begins December first. The kitchen will look like a bakery for three weeks. Kevin will gain five pounds. The neighbors will receive tins. This is the way.

Dad called to ask if I was making peanut butter blossoms this year. I said yes. He said good. He said the ones I made last year were a little flat. I said they were not flat. He said they were a little flat. I said fine, Dad, I'll press the Hershey kisses in harder this year. He said that would be good. Roger Weber: cookie critic.

After all that talk of Christmas cookies and my dad critiquing last year’s peanut butter blossoms, I needed something warm and comforting for dinner—something that required zero debate about whether it was flat. Chicken gnocchi soup is my answer to a December state of mind: cozy, filling, and impossible to criticize. Here’s how I make it.

(Better Than Olive Garden) Chicken Gnocchi Soup

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

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 1 lb store-bought potato gnocchi
• 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded (rotisserie works perfectly)
• 2 cups fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Fresh parsley, chopped, for serving

Instructions

1. Saute the aromatics. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, melt butter with olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and carrots and cook 2 minutes more.
2. Build the base. Sprinkle flour over the vegetables and stir to coat. Cook for 1 minute to eliminate the raw flour taste. Slowly pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Add thyme, nutmeg, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper.
3. Simmer. Bring the soup to a gentle simmer and cook for 10—12 minutes, until the carrots are just tender and the broth has thickened slightly.
4. Add the gnocchi. Stir in the gnocchi and cook according to package directions, usually 3—4 minutes, until they float and are cooked through.
5. Finish with cream and chicken. Reduce heat to low. Pour in the half-and-half and add the shredded chicken. Stir gently and let everything warm through for about 3 minutes — do not boil at this stage.
6. Add spinach and serve. Stir in the spinach and let it wilt, about 1 minute. Taste and adjust seasoning. Ladle into bowls and top with fresh parsley.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 420 | Protein: 26g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 38g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 780mg