Gnocchi with Chicken & Sausage

I made this soup after sampling a soup my mom brought home from Olive Garden. I was underwhelmed when trying it, so I came up with this. It is essentially my version of their Chicken & Gnocchi soup.

I wanted to improve it on a number of different levels. To start I added Italian sausage as another protein base to give it more flavor depth. From there I added more gnocchi (there were only 3 in the version she brought home, though it's possible she ate a couple at the restaurant), thickened the base so that it felt filling, and instead of a spinach to finish it, I lightly pickled some julienned carrots to help balance out the rich creamy flavor as well as give it texture.

Feel free and change it up anyway you like, this was just my interpretation of their dish.

Enjoy.

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Ingredients

• chicken thighs, skinless 2 lbs

• Avenue spice 2 T

• oil as needed

• Avenue finishing spice* 1 T

• Italian sausage 4 ea (12 oz)

• Dijon mustard 1 T

• cream 12 oz

• chicken stock 2 qt

• water 2 qt

• flour 1/4 cup

• butter 4 oz

• carrots, peeled and julienned 4 ea

• crushed red pepper 1 tsp

• salt to cure 1 T + to taste

• sugar to cure 1 T

• sherry vinegar 1 T + to taste

• garlic cloves, peeled and sliced 4 ea

• onions, chopped 4 ea

• gnocchi 8-10 per portion

*This is a spice blend I'm currently working on. It's a finer grind with less salt and powdered black garlic. Feel free and omit or add more seasoning that you like.

Garnish

parsley leaves

Method of Procedure

1. Marinate the chicken thighs in 1 T of Avenue spice overnight.

2. Follow the instructions to make your gnocchi, or purchase some from store.

3. To make your cured carrots add your 1 T salt, 1 T sugar, and 1 T of sherry vinegar to your julienned carrots. Let stand for 30 minutes and adjust seasoning to your liking.

4. The next day start your soup by warming your pot then adding some oil and browning your chicken thighs in batches.

5. Once you've gotten through all your chicken add your onions, crushed red pepper, garlic, and Italian sausage.

6. Put your cream, chicken stock, and water into the pot and simmer for around 1 hour until the chicken and sausage is cooked through.

7. Strain out your soup reserving all the ingredients.

8. Remove the sausage and chicken and then blend the other ingredients.

9. In a new pot (or hold your pureed blend in a different container and use your same pot) add your butter and flour to create a blonde roux.

10. Add your soup base to the roux, along with your remaining Avenue spice (and your finishing spice if using) and bring to a simmer. Season to taste and cook for at least 30 minutes to ensure the flour is cooked through, then run through a sieve to remove any roux that didn't break down.

11. Pull or slice your chicken and slice your sausage into half crescents.

12. To pick up, sear your gnocchi (about 8-10 per portion), add your chicken, sausage, and cured carrots. Toss briefly and add about 8-10 oz of soup per portion. Simmer for 10 minutes and serve. Garnish with parsley.