Chicken And Chick Pea Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 carrot, cut into julienne
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 lb turkey Italian sausage, casings removed
3/4 cup dry white wine
2 (32 ounce) containers reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 lbs rotisserie chicken, cooked and shredded
3 (15 ounce) cans garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 (6 ounce) package fresh spinach, chopped
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon marjoram, dried
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf, dried
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Preparation

First, remove the leftover chicken from the carcass, discard the skin, and shred into small pieces. Set aside. Heat oil in a large stockpot or dutch oven. Then, remove the sausage from their casing and brown in the oil in large pot, crumbling it into small pieces. While that is browning, chop the onion, celery, carrots, and garlic and add to the sausage to sweat. Add the crushed red pepper, basil, marjoram, and oregano and cook until sausage is done and vegetables are softened. Add the chicken pieces and saute. Deglaze the pan with the wine, scraping any browned bit off the bottom of the pot. Add all of the chicken stock, reserving 1/2 cup, and the bay leaf, and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Take 1 can of the chick peas (garbanzo beans) and puree in the blender with the reserved chicken stock. Add that mixture into the soup, along with the remaining 2 cans of drained and rinsed chick peas. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add chopped spinach, chopped parsley,
lemon juice, and zest and season to taste with salt and pepper, and other fresh herbs on hand as desired. Remove the bay leaf and serve hot, garnished with a bit of fresh grated parmesan cheese if you wish.