Chicken, Artichoke and Cannellini Bean Spezzatino

This recipe was on Giada at Home, a great source for family friendly food. The episode was called Comfort Food and I'd have to agree this recipe fits that description. Perfect for those days late in May when you wake up and see SNOW on the ground! I really liked this soup and was surprised by how much I enjoyed biting into the bits of artichoke. You feel nourished after eating this soup. Serve this with Bruschetta with Fontina and Greens.


Chicken, Artichoke and Cannellini Bean Spezzatino

2 tablespoons olive oil 1 (4-ounce) piece pancetta, diced into 1/4-inch pieces (I didn't have any pancetta, so I used bacon)
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, halved
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
2 (14-ounce) cans low-sodium chicken stock
1/2 packed cup fresh basil leaves, chopped (if all you've got is dried basil, it'll still be yummy)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2 skinless chicken breasts with rib meat(about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds total)
12 ounces frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

In a heavy 5 or 6 quart saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring frequently, until brown and crispy, about 6 to 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the pancetta and drain on paper towels. Set aside. (If you're using bacon, just chop it up--or, don't and crumble it later--and you will probably have plenty of fat in the pan after that and won't need any olive oil. Oh, and I always cook bacon on low or I end up burning it.) Add the carrots, celery, onion, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper and cook until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. (Here again, I cook these things on low--I just like how the onions turn out better--so it probably takes about 15 minutes.) Stir in the chicken stock, basil, tomato paste, thyme, and bay leaf. Add the chicken and press down to submerge. Bring the liquid to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, turning the chicken over and stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Add the artichokes and the cannellini beans and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the liquid has reduced slightly, about 10 to 15 minutes. (I don't add the artichokes and canellini beans until I return the meat to the saucepan because really all you're doing is heating those up and canellini beans are already really soft and I don't like them falling apart it the soup.)

Remove the chicken and let cool for 5 minutes. Discard the bones and cut the meat into bite-size pieces. Return the meat to the saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes until warmed through. Remove the bay leaf and discard. Season the spezzatino with salt and pepper, to taste.

Ladle the spezzatino into bowls and garnish with the cooked pancetta. (or in my case, bacon and some of the cheese from the bruschetta)