Stomach-warming soup filled with chicken and gnocchi...

One kind of dinner we should have more often is soup - every time we make a pot, we keep saying we should prepare it a little more regularly. It is a very comforting way to warm up through all of these continuous cold snaps that have been swinging through Minnesota. I know, I know - what did you expect moving back here? We are not adjusting as we had hoped after being spoiled by the heat in Phoenix for two years - the short time we spent in Maryland helped, but obviously not enough!

If you have the extra time, you could go all out and prepare your own gnocchi for tonight's batch of Chicken and Gnocchi Soup with Spinach Gremolada, but we've found some decent already prepared ones at one of the markets close by. This soup starts off by sautéing cubed chicken breast, onions, carrots, celery, dried oregano and a bay leaf. Once the onions have softened, a couple cloves of garlic are added, followed by chicken stock and a bit of water. This combination simmers, covered, to let the flavors blend and to finish cooking the chicken. The potato dumplings are tossed in and allowed to cook just until they float to the top of the bubbling soup.

While we waited on the soup, we kept ourselves busy by tossing together the fresh spinach gremolada. Typically made with parsley, this version uses a healthy dose of tender chopped spinach. Mixed along with the greens are a combination of bright lemon juice, lemon zest, extra-virgin olive oil and a minced raw clove of garlic. The pillow-like bites of potatoes, steaming stock and meaty chunks of chicken transformed this into a hearty and stomach-warming dish, perfect for a cold winter's evening like tonight. The gremolada, sprinkled on the assembled soup bowls, added such a special fresh and bright note that stepped up this soup to another level without competing with base flavors.

Recipes
Chicken and Gnocchi Soup with Spinach Gremolada