BREAD SOUP!

It’s not soup season, I know. But I had a craving for Chicken Garlic Bread Soup, so I made some.

I know, bread soup sounds strange, but it’s really not. It’s loosely based on Papa al Pommodoro and the bread breaks down into a sort of polenta consistency that just …works.

The recipe below is my version of the recipe pulled from a soup cookbook. I’ll leave out the name of the cookbook unless anyone really wants it, only because I think they would cry hate me if they saw my adulterated version.

All their soups are made from scratch, you see. You do everything yourself. Very nearly you have to kill your own chicken and milk your own cow. No doubt this is the tastiest way to make soup, but I just don’t have that kinda time. So I take short cuts. It doesn’t make me a bad person. Quit judging me!

Chicken Garlic Bread Soup – The LY Way
2lbs of boneless, skinnless chicken, grilled, boiled, baked or leftover from something, but cooked through, chopped up into 1/4 inch pieces
2 quarts of chicken stock or broth
2T olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 leeks, chopped (if you don’t usually cook with leeks, make sure you slice them in half and rinse them off well. The dirt tends to hide inside)
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 tsp dried thyme (double this if you use fresh, which I do)
2 bay leaves
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
28 oz can of diced tomatoes, drained
1 3-inch piece of Parmesan cheese rind
(Note: this is important for the flavor of the soup, but don’t try to use a piece of parmesan cheese as a sub, it will melt into the soup. The rind tends to hold together far better so you can fish it out at the end. I usually buy a small wedge of parmesan and cut the rind off for this and shave the rest for the soup later, but if you know where you can get just a piece of rind, more power to you!)
2 5oz packages of your favorite garlic bread croutons.
1/2 cup shaved parmesan cheese

Heat oil in large stockpot over medium heat. Add onion, celery, leeks and garlic and sweat for 4 minutes.

Add thyme, bay leaves and salt and pepper and stir to coat veggies.

Add chicken stock or broth, chopped chicken, tomatoes and the parmesan rind. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, partially cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove the bay leaves and the parmesan rind with a slotted spoon.

Remove the soup from the heat and add croutons. Let sit for 5 minutes.

To serve, ladle soup into bowls and garnish with shaved parmesan.

If you are a soup purist and would like the recipe in its original form, twitter me at @alwayslaurel or leave a comment and I will get it to you.