A comforting soup full of flavor and variety. This Italian Chicken Soup with Fennel & Zucchini can easily become vegan, by leaving out the chicken and use vegetable instead of chicken stock.
In most of my recipes, I am trying new things. A new combination of ingredients, or I’m using an ingredient that I don’t know very well. That’s my way of expanding my pallet; try it one day. When I am brave, I am making something with an ingredient I don’t like. My philosophy is that my taste perception may change, that certain combinations of ingredients or cooking methods may change my opinion. It does not always work, but not because of lack of trying.
In this Italian Chicken Soup with Fennel & Zucchini, it is the fennel that I am reconnecting with. I don’t eating it very often, but cannot really tell you why. One reason may be that it is one of those ingredients that grocery stores in our neighborhood do not carry frequently. But whatever the reason, the fennel adds a subtle fresh flavor to the soup.
The other ingredients are zucchini, pill pasta, peas, and chicken, onion and a squeeze of lemon. As you may be able to see from the photos, there are a few ingredients cut to the same size for visual and mouth feel reasons. Obviously, the pill pasta and the peas are similar, and I have also cut the fennel and onion into the roundish shape. The zucchini, with skin or peel, is cut as half moons, and chicken is kinda shredded / cut in random shapes.
This Chicken Soup with Fennel & Zucchini does not require a lot of skills, utensils or pots and pans. One pan and a cutting board and knife and that’s all. Furthermore, you can tweak the ratios of the ingredients in this soup. For instance, make it vegan, by leaving out the chicken and substitute the chicken stock with vegetable stock. Leave out the pasta and lower the calories of the soup. Add more vegetables to make it more filling.
Changes are easy to make. Make this soup your own and enjoy!
Italian Chicken Soup with Fennel & Zucchini
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 ounces chicken breast or rotisserie chicken
- 2-3 cups chicken stock
- 1 zucchini small
- 1/2 onion small
- 1 fennel small bulb
- 1/2 cup pill pasta or orzo
- 1 cup green peas
- salt and pepper
- lemon juice
Instructions
- Rub the chicken with salt and pepper.
- Heat the oil in a pan and cook the chicken brown on all sides. Add the chicken stock and cook the chicken until is done. This will take about 20 minutes. When done, take out of the stock, allow to cool a little and shred or cut into edible pieces.
- While the chicken is cooking. Wash the zucchini, cut the ends off and then cut in half. Cut each half in thin slices. Peel the onion and cut in small pieces, the size of green peas. Cut the stalks off the fennel and cut the bulb in half. Cut the hard core out of the bulb and then cut is as an onion in small pieces, the size of green peas.
- Add all ingredients back into the stock. Start with the onion and fennel and allow to cook for about 5 minutes. Add the pasta, zucchini and green peas and cook for another 5 minutes. Then add the chicken and cook for 1-2 minutes until warm.
- The soup is done. It is time to add some last-minute flavor adjustments. Salt, pepper and lemon juice.
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