Chicken & Escarole Soup

(from castro15’s recipe box)

Categories: Soup

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp. butter
  • 2 cups coarsely pulsed stale peasant bread
  • Olive oil, for drizzling
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1/4 lb. pancetta, finely chopped
  • 1 lb. chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, crushed or chopped
  • Salt and black pepper
  • A few sprigs rosemary, chopped
  • 1 large head escarole, coarsely chopped
  • A few grates of nutmeg
  • 32 oz. chicken stock
  • 15 oz. can cannellini beans, drained
  • 1 piece Parmigiano-Reggiano rind
  • 1 lemon, zested, 1/2 juiced

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400.

  2. In a small dish, microwave the butter on high until melted, 20-30 seconds. Arrange the bread on a baking sheet. Douse with butter, drizzle with olive oil and toss with 1/2 cup cheese. Bake until golden and fragrant, 10-12 minutes.

  3. In a large soup pot with a lid, heat the olive oil over medium-high. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown around the edges, 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken and cook, stirring often, until browned, 5-6 minutes. Add the onion and garlic; season with salt and pepper and add the rosemary. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens a bit, about 5 minutes. Add the escarole and nutmeg; cover and cook until the escarole wilts, about 2 minutes. Add the stock, beans and cheese rind; cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium; simmer until the flavor from the rind is released, just a few minutes. Season with salt; add the lemon zest and juice. Discard rind. Ladle soup into bowls; top with the croutons.

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