Carrabba's Spicy Sicillian Chicken Soup

Total Time: 3 hrs 15 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients

• olive oil
• 3 medium sweet onions
• 2 1/2 medium green peppers
• 10 hearts celery (i estimated 8 whole stalks, but only had hearts)
• 8 -10 medium carrots (6 large would be enough)
• 8 medium sized potatoes (maybe just 4-5 larger idaho baking potatoes?)
• 10 -12 garlic cloves
• 4 quarts chicken stock (2 from boxed broth, 2 from concentrate)
• 5 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 (28 ounce) cans tomatoes, 28 oz can and (i used "generic" safeway diced petite, (1, 1)
• 1 cup of chopped parsley
• pepper (2 tablespoons total?)
• black pepper (1.5 or 2 tablespoons?)
• salt (1.5 tablespoon?, and then salted to taste at end)
• 2 lbs ditalini, as needed when serving (or stubby pasta of choice)

Recipe

• 1 in a large stockpot:. heat olive oil under fairly low to medium heat.
• 2 "sweat" onion, celery, green pepper and some salt (to draw off moisture) for perhaps 30 minutes -- this is lower than browning, and makes the veggies somewhat translucent. i covered, and mixed every few minutes to prevent browning.
• 3 add carrots, garlic, some pepper and some black pepper, and continue to heat under "sweat" conditions while mixing now and then.
• 4 add chicken stock, chicken breasts, tomatoes and potatoes -- and of course some more pepper and black pepper.
• 5 cover and simmer on low heat for 1.5 to 2 hours (or use crock pot?).
• 6 remove chicken and let cool and stand to shred.
• 7 add chopped parsley and return the shredded chicken to the soup.
• 8 salt to taste at this point, and add more and black pepper if your tongue is not twitching a bit when you sample. ;-).
• 9 simmer while cooking ditalini (or other stubby pasta).
• 10 serve soup over cooked pasta to taste.
• 11 note: like many soups, this may be better made the day before and then served when needed. we will freeze some for ready-made meals and i think it will work out well.