finished product in the bowl

I made this beautiful delicious soup the other night for dinner. It was easy and I used lots of veggies that I had in the house. I used a Rotisserie Chicken and boxed chicken stock which made this easy and quick to assemble. Of course you can use home-made stock and roast a whole chicken yourself. I decided to make this at about 5 p.m. and it really was ready about an hour later. I like my soups to sit and simmer for a while so we didn’t eat it till 7 p.m. but honestly this soup could have been eaten an hour after it was assembled. Total chopping and cooking time is about an hour but like I said I let it simmer for almost 2 hours. Perfection in a bowl. You can obviously substitute with different types of vegetables in this soup. A loaf of crusty bread would be very nice alongside this soup.

This soup can be refrigerated overnight and you might need to add a little water to thin out the soup. You can also freeze for up to 3 months.

Many of you saw me post this on Instagram and Facebook–if not please follow me on Cooking with Candi on both–thanks

*should serve between 4 and 6 nicely as a meal

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium carrot, halved lengthwise and thinly cut crosswise–or just thinly cut rounds

1 small turnip, diced

1/2 small sweet onion, finely chopped

1 small fennel bulb, cored and thinly sliced or diced whichever you like , I sliced thinly

1 celery rib, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper (or used coarse ground black pepper)

app. 1/4 lb. green beans, cut into 1/4’s or use yellow beans

8 cups Chicken Stock

12 cherry or small type tomatoes , quartered

1/2 cup (app) of frozen green peas

1 cup orzo, cook according to box directions for al dente and drained

a handful of arugula for each bowl thinly sliced, I used baby arugula

1 Rotisserie Chicken, remove skin and shred chicken off the bones

Directions:

In a large heavy stock pot or enamel cast iron pot ( Le Creuset) heat the olive oil over moderate heat. Add the carrot and turnip, then add in the onion, fennel, celery , garlic and a generous pinch of kosher salt and cook, stirring vegetables occasionally , cook until veggies break down and get soft without burning, probably up to 10 minutes on a low flame.

Stir in the green beans then add in the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Add in the tomatoes and peas. Simmer the soup over moderately low heat, partially covered, until the vegetables are tender, at least 1/2 hour and up to 1 hour. I simmered for about an hour.

While soup is simmering taste for Salt and Pepper. Season to taste. Right before serving you can add chicken to pot and heat through.

When we were ready to eat I placed orzo and arugula into bowls and ladled hot soup over the arugula and orzo!

Afterwards I added orzo to the pot and froze soup for future use in airtight containers.

You can freeze in a good freezer for about 3 months. I figure it will be something to look forward to when we return to Colorado in the summer. When you re-heat the frozen soup you’ll need to add water/stock it’s your choice . I usually just add a little water at a time till the desired consistency is reached.

This dinner was just delicious.  I used under 8 size shrimp. What this means is that there were about 8 to a pound , so rather large and the cooking times were perfect for them. You will probably have to adjust your cooking time depending on the size of your shrimp. Obviously the larger shrimp took a little longer to cook. I will give you a range of time for anywhere from under 16 to under 8. Timing will vary depending on your oven and the size of the shrimp you use.  The potatoes and asparagus times will remain pretty much the same. I just love cooking on one sheet in the oven! This recipe is a keeper and one I will re-visit often and maybe use different veggies, since I am the only one who ate the asparagus anyway.

Ingredients:

1 pound large shrimp ( anywhere from 8 – 16 count) is perfect – thawed, peeled and de-veined and leave the tails on

Extra – Virgin Olive Oil

3 cloves of garlic-minced

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes if you hate the spice you can omit it

2 Lemons, 1 for zest and juice of, the other 1 thinly sliced

1 lb. Asparagus-trimmed

1 lb. Fingerling Potatoes–halved lengthwise

Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper–read directions for amounts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Spray a large rimmed baking sheet for easy clean up

Place the shrimp in a large mixing bowl and drizzle with 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil . Add in minced garlic and crushed red pepper flakes. Stir to coat and set aside.

In another mixing bowl , toss the sliced potatoes with 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil. Season generously with Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper. Transfer Potatoes to the baking sheet in a single layer. Roast potatoes for anywhere between 20 and 30 minutes, or until they are almost tender.

While potatoes are roasting, toss asparagus with 1/2 Tbsp.of Olive Oil and season with Salt and Pepper,  Set aside

Now add 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice to bowl of shrimp and toss to coat. Season Shrimp pretty generously with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

After 20 minutes or so remove potatoes from the oven and add asparagus and lemon slices to baking sheet. Continue to roast potatoes and asparagus for another 10 minutes,  potatoes should be tender by now , pierce a potatoe with a fork to check for tenderness. If potatoes still need time you can leave them in for a few more minutes. Using a slotted spoon add shrimp to baking sheet and put back in the oven. Roast for another 10 minutes or until shrimp are pink-opaque and firm to touch. My shrimp took about 12 more minutes, this time will depend on your shrimp. I checked after 5 minutes and using tongs turned them over and continued cooking for another 7 more minutes.

When I removed from oven I sprinkled with lemon zest. Perfection on a plate!

*one added tip– after my shrimp is peeled and de-veined and before I am about to cook I always wrap my shrimp in some paper towels to dry them off. It helps with the oil and spices sticking to shrimp.