Creamy Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

Instructions

Homemade Gnocchi

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Using a fork, prick hole all over each potato.
3. Place the potatoes directly onto the center rack of the oven and bake for 50 minutes to an hour or until completely fork tender.
4. Allow potatoes to cool for about 30 minutes. Peel and rice (using a potato ricer) onto a clean surface. **If you don’t have a ricer, gently grate potatoes on the fine setting of your box grater.
5. Create a well in the center of your potato pile and fill with egg yolks, cheese, salt, pepper, and 1/2 of the flour. Sprinkle the remaining flour over the entire pile.
6. Beat egg mixture with a fork, incorporating more and more of the potato and flour from the sides into the mixture and you mix.
7. Continue to mix together until a crumbly and uneven pile forms. Using your hands, gently begin kneading the dough together until a smooth ball forms (adding 1 teaspoon of extra flour at a time, as needed); make sure not to overwork the dough.
8. Lightly sprinkle the surface with flour and divide the ball of dough into 8 even sizes. Loosely cover all but one piece with a kitchen towel or lightly wet paper towel. Roll the reserved piece into an 18” long rope (about 1/2” thick) and cut out 20 equal pieces.
9. Roll each piece through a gnocchi paddle to create ridges or just use the back of a fork.
10. Repeat until all the dough has been used.
11. Scatter gnocchi onto two lightly flour baking sheets (make sure they’re not touching), lined with parchment, cover with paper towels and refrigerate for 1 hour. **You can also freeze any excess of gnocchi you have for a later time! Freeze on the baking sheet before bagging up to ensure they don’t stick and freeze together!
12. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season with a handful of salt.
13. Add gnocchi to the boiling water, in batches, removing them as soon as they float to the surface. Repeat until all gnocchi have been boiled.

Creamy Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

1. Place butter in a large saucepan and melt over medium-high heat.
2. Add onion, celery, carrots, and garlic, season with salt and pepper and saute for 4 to 5 minutes or until vegetables begin to turn translucent. Add thyme and sage and continue to saute for 1 minute.
3. Stir in flour and cook for about 2 minutes, continuing to stir, to remove the raw flour flavor as well as any dry flour pockets.
4. Whisk milk into the vegetable-flour mixture and stir until no lumps remain. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture begins to thicken.
5. Stir the stock into the soup mixture and add the shredded chicken. Season with salt, pepper, and Nature’s Seasoning.
6. Simmer soup for about 20 minutes or until the soup thickens. Stir in gnocchi and continue to simmer for 5 to 7 minutes until gnocchi have cooked through. Adjust seasonings and serve.