Tuscan Chicken Stew

One of the favorite recipes from my soup book is Tuscan Chicken Stew. I recently realized it had never made it onto the blog and it certainly deserved to be there! In the eight years since the book was published, I’ve made this easy and fast, yummy whole meal stew many times for our own dinner, for sick friends, and for families experiencing homelessness in our city. While still basically the same familiar meal –an easy take on a filling chicken minestrone - there have been some changes and additions that make me glad I waited to share it online until now. Add a few individual touches and make it your own; you’ll be glad you did.

8 servings

Ingredients

2 links sweet chicken or pork Italian sausage-or instead use 2 more chicken thighs
Olive oil
2 strips thick bacon, diced (or 2 tablespoons olive oil)
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 large yellow onions, diced
3 each: large carrots and celery stalks, trimmed and diced (can sub fennel for some of the celery)
4 large plump cloves of garlic, minced
½ cup fresh parsley, minced
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced or 1 tablespoon dried rosemary crushed between your fingers
1 teaspoon each: dried basil and dried oregano
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 1-inch pieces (use 6 if not making the Italian Sausage)
¼ cup dry white wine
15-ounce can chopped tomatoes
15-ounce can cannellini or Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
4 cups water or more, as needed—to keep the soup brothy as it cooks
1 each: small zucchini and yellow squash, cut into ½-inch pieces
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for garnish

Instructions

COOK SAUSAGE + BACON: In a small skillet, cook the Italian sausage links until browned and done through. Remove, cool, and chop into 1/2-inch pieces. Set aside in a paper towel-lined bowl. Warm an 8 or 10-quart soup pot over medium flame for a minute, drizzle with oil and, when hot, add the diced bacon. Cook, stirring, until the bacon is crispy. Remove cooked bacon to the bowl with the sausage and set aside. Add the crushed red pepper to the pot and let it warm through for a minute. (Or heat olive oil for one minute with crushed red pepper if skipping the bacon.)
ADD ONIONS, CARROTS AND CELERY to the bacon fat. (If the bacon has not left at least a tablespoon of fat, add a little olive oil.) Cover and cook about 3 minutes; add garlic. Stir in parsley, rosemary, basil, oregano, and season with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Cook another minute or two, stirring.
SEASON AND COOK THE CHICKEN: Toss the diced chicken in a medium bowl with a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper and tip into the soup pot, pushing vegetables around so the chicken gets to the bottom of the pot. Cook, stirring, for 5-10 minutes; the chicken needn’t be done through, but just have lost its pink color on the outside. Stir in the reserved cooked sausage and bacon.
POUR IN WINE and stir well to bring up the browned bits at the bottom of the pot. Simmer a few minutes or until most of the wine is absorbed.
POUR IN THE TOMATOES, DRAINED BEANS, CHICKEN STOCK, AND TWO CUPS OF THE WATER. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and let stew simmer until everything is tender and the chicken is cooked through with no pink remaining---about 30 minutes. Add more water, as needed, if the stew becomes too thick. Taste and adjust seasonings.
TIP IN THE ZUCCHINI, YELLOW SQUASH, SPINACH, and simmer another 5 minutes or so until squash is tender, and spinach is wilted. As the soup finishes cooking, check one last time to make sure it remains brothy; add some more water or broth, if needed. Taste and adjust seasonings one last time.
SERVE HOT with a spoonful of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano on top. Store tightly covered for 3 days in the fridge or for 4-6 months in the freezer.