Cooking Lesson #1009: Grandma Gray’s Chicken Soup

…from the Perspectives’ Kitchen

How you doin’? Grandmother Gray lived in New York, and I only met her once before she passed. I was about 11 years old, and she decided to let all the stops out for dinner with her famous one course soup.
 
My mother had told me that she made the best chicken soup in the world—and that’s what the meal was. The soup was a winner made with tender, pulled roasted chicken and pasta shells bathed in a creamy, cheesy sauce flavored with garlic and slivers of sweet sun-dried tomatoes.
 
In my recipe, chicken broth is infused with a healthy dose of garlic and both the oil and tomatoes from a jar of sun-dried tomatoes. Adding pasta and spinach to the dish along with the chicken presents what many will accept as a complete meal. Near the end add the softened cream cheese and Parmesan cheese to melt into the broth turning the soup ultra-rich and creamy.
 
To make my speedy soup start with cooked chicken. You can shred any leftovers you’ve got on hand or grab a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket. Soften the cream cheese to room temperature so it blends more easily into the soup. If you want to use a different pasta shape instead of the small shells, like orecchiette or campanelle, make sure to check the package for recommended cooking times to get to al dente.
 
Serve my Grandma’s Chicken Soup with crusty French or Italian bread or soft King’s Hawaiian rolls to sop up every last bit of the rich, creamy soup.
 
Prep time:  15 minutes
Cook time:  30 to 35 minutes
Yield:  6 servings
 
Ingredients 
2 tablespoons oil from a jar of olive oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
8 tablespoons minced garlic
3/4 cup drained and chopped sun-dried tomatoes with herbs
3 tablespoons tomato paste
8 cups chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons roasted chicken base (I prefer Better Than Bouillon)
6 ounces (about 1-1/2 cups) uncooked pasta shells
1 cup coarsely chopped baby spinach
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 (8-ounce) cubed and softened package cream cheese
1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese, plus a little more for garnish
1/4 cup chopped fresh sweet basil, plus a little more for garnish
 
Directons
Make the tomato base

1. In a large Dutch oven, heat the sun-dried tomato oil over medium heat until shimmering, about 3 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
3. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until the tomato paste turns a slightly deeper red, about 2 minutes.

Cook the broth

1. Pour in the broth, salt and chicken base and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the flavors blossom, about 6 minutes.

Cook the pasta

1. Add the pasta and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is just al dente, about 6 to 8 minutes.

Finish the soup

1. Turn the heat to low and stir in the spinach, cooked chicken, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese and basil, stirring often, until the cream cheese and Parmesan are melted, and the chicken is heated through, about 5 minutes.
2. Bring the heat higher if the soup cools too much.
3. Ladle the soup into heated bowls, garnish with more Parmesan and fresh basil.

Store:  Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days. The pasta will continue to soak up the broth the longer it sits, but will still be delicious. If you need to add more stock or water to make it soupier, add half a cup at a time.

ChefSecret:  Squish any cream cheese chunks against the side of the pot as needed as it cooks to help it melt and mix into the soup evenly.

Quip of the Day:  Why did the principal bring chicken noodle soup to school? To get the favor of the soup-erintendent.
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