Chicken with Gnocchi

Tender roasted chicken and pillowy soft gnocchi in a thick creamy sauce with garlic broccoli. I call this a soup, but it's thick enough to eat on a plate.

Ingredients

1 lb potato gnocchi

2 halves of leftover barbecued chicken (or 1 whole rotisserie chicken)

12 oz frozen broccoli cuts or florets

3 Tbsp butter

½ c onion

2 tsp minced garlic (or 4 cloves fresh, minced)

2 c reduced sodium chicken broth

2 c half&half

¾ c grated parmesan, divided

1 c shredded mozzerella

Black pepper to taste

(optional) 1 Tbsp red pepper flakes (or to taste)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400.

Remove bones and most of the skin from 2 halves of leftover barbecued chicken (or 1 whole rotisserie chicken. If a little bit of skin stays stuck to the meat it's OK, but you don't want big pieces of skin (And you only want the skin where he fat has cooked away. Fatty skin is not going to have a pleasant texture in soup.) Cut chicken into bite-size pieces. Discard bones and skin, obviously.

Prepare broccoli following package directions, drain and set aside.

Add gnocchi to boiling unsalted water in a 8-10 qt pot (See tips/add-ins section). Gnocchi will immediately sink in the water. Boil 1-2 minutes, until they float. Drain gnocchi but reserve 1 cup of the starch water for thickening later. Set cooked gnocchi aside.

Put empty pot back on stove over medium heat and add butter and onion. Fry, stirring frequently 1½-2 minutes. Add drained broccoli, 2 tsp minced garlic (or about 4 cloves crushed fresh garlic), and ½ c grated parmesan. Continue stirring until cheese is turning golden brown and broccoli is tender.

Add 2 c chicken broth, 2 c half&half, drained gnocchi, and chicken. Add red pepper flakes if desired. Stir to combine. If not thick enough, add some of reserved starch water and bring to a boil. If too thick, add more broth or half&half. Top with mozzerella and remaining parmesan. Bake in oven about 15 minutes until hot and bubbly. Stir and serve.

Tips/Add-Ins

I normally salt my pasta water before adding the pasta. But these gnocchi are already pretty salty. I recommend using unsalted water, and seasoning the sauce more if needed.

I used pregrated parmesan cheese, but real fresh grated parm would be amazing on this. Or you could use grated Romano instead for half the price and no one will know the difference.

Olive Garden uses spinach in their gnocchi soup. I went with garlic parmesan broccoli instead. Both are delicious.

By the way... that parmesan garlic broccoli? I make that as a side by itself sometimes, with or without the onion. It's great served next to fettuccine alfredo or a grilled chicken bread or on top of a baked potato with sour cream and lots of butter.

I use the frozen broccoli that steams in the bag. It's more expensive, but so much easier and faster. You could definitely use fresh broccoli if you've got the time.

Replacing the leftover chicken with crumbled bacon and the broccoli with sautéed mushrooms would be phenomenal. But I had 7 halves of leftover barbecued chicken that I needed to get used up... That'll be a recipe for another day.