Creamy Rotisserie Chicken Tortellini Soup

Ingredients

• 1 large onion (small diced)
• 1 cup carrot (small diced)
• 1 cup celery (small diced)
• 5 garlic cloves (minced; source says about 4–6 cloves)
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• 2 tbsp olive oil (for sweating the vegetables)
• kosher salt (a pinch, plus more for boiling the tortellini water)
• black pepper (to taste, plus more for finishing)
• 0.25 cup unsalted butter (half a stick)
• 0.25 cup all-purpose flour (for the roux)
• 2 qt chicken stock (added in stages: about 2 cups first, then the remainder)
• 2 cups heavy cream
• rotisserie chicken meat (pulled meat from the chicken; the source does not specify an amount)
• baby spinach (a few good handfuls)
• 0.5 cup fresh parsley (minced)
• tortellini (cook only the amount desired; source does not specify a quantity)
• Parmesan cheese (for finishing)

Steps

1. 1

   Remove and pull the meat from a rotisserie chicken. Reserve the chicken bones if making homemade chicken stock; the source also mentions adding the liquid from the bottom of the rotisserie chicken bag. The chicken oyster muscles may be eaten separately as a snack.

2. 2

   Small-dice one large onion, about 1 cup of carrot, and about 1 cup of celery. Mince about 4–6 garlic cloves and about 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves.

3. 3

   Heat a large pot over medium heat and add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

4. 4

   Add the onion, carrot, and celery to the pot. Season with a pinch of kosher salt and black pepper, then sweat the vegetables for about 5–6 minutes, until soft and fully cooked.

5. 5

   Add the minced garlic and thyme. Cook for about 60–90 seconds, until fragrant.

6. 6

   Melt in ½ stick, or ¼ cup, of butter. Once the butter is fully melted, sprinkle in ¼ cup of all-purpose flour.

7. 7

   Stir the vegetables, butter, and flour together to form a paste-like roux. The flour should become saturated with butter; the roux should add body without becoming so thick that a spoon stands upright.

8. 8

   Add about 2 cups of the chicken stock first and stir until the roux dissolves smoothly into the liquid. Adding the stock in this smaller initial amount helps prevent floury lumps.

9. 9

   Bring the soup to a simmer, scraping the corners and bottom of the pot so the roux does not stick. Add another 2 cups of chicken stock once the first addition has simmered and incorporated.

10. 10

    Add the remaining chicken stock and simmer the roux-thickened soup for about 10 minutes to cook out the raw flour flavor. Continue scraping the corners of the pot as needed.

11. 11

    Add 2 cups of heavy cream and bring the soup back to a simmer.

12. 12

    Add the pulled chicken meat, a few good handfuls of baby spinach, and ½ cup of minced parsley. Simmer until the chicken is hot and the spinach is wilted.

13. 13

    Turn off the heat. If serving all the soup immediately and cooking the tortellini in the soup, keep the soup simmering and cook the tortellini directly in it, keeping in mind that the pasta will absorb much of the liquid.

14. 14

    Alternatively, cook only the desired amount of tortellini in boiling salted water, then drain it. Place the tortellini in serving bowls and ladle the soup over it.

15. 15

    Finish each serving with Parmesan cheese and plenty of black pepper.

Notes

The source does not specify the amount of rotisserie chicken, baby spinach, tortellini, or Parmesan, so those quantities should be adjusted to taste. Cooking the tortellini separately prevents it from absorbing most of the soup liquid. The source mentions using rotisserie chicken bones and bag juices for homemade stock but does not provide a stock-making method.

Nutrition per serving

• soup
• main
• comfort food
• creamy
• chicken
• tortellini
• one-pot
• family meal