Chicken Gnocchi Soup

I don't normally consider soup to be a 'filler'. It's usually liquid-based with small bits of things floating in it. But, as Kopy Cat proves, it doesn't have to be. Today, I present to you: Chicken Gnocchi Soup. It's creamy and full of chicken and gnocchi, which are mini potato dumplings. If you've never had gnocchi, now is the time to start with this delicious soup recipe!

While this recipe calls for store-bought gnocchi, it also provides a recipe to make homemade gnocchi for the ''adventurous' cook. Gnocchi is an Italian dish of thick, soft dough dumplings that may be made from semolina (which is coarse, purified wheat middlings of durum wheat often used in making pasta, breakfast cereals, puddings and couscous), ordinary wheat flour, egg, cheese, potato, and breadcrumbs (or other similar ingredients). Gnocchi are usually eaten as a first course or as an alternative to soup or pasta. If you aren't feeling so adventurous however, you can purchase them in supermarkets either refrigerated, dried or frozen. These beautiful little potato dumplings have been around since the Roman times and were introduced by the Roman legions to the countries of the European continent. Roman gnocchi was made from semolina and eggs and the use of potato is a relatively recent innovation, occurring only after the introduction of the potato to Europe around the 16th century.

The ingredients for this beautiful chicken gnocchi soup are relatively common and include spinach leaves, white onion, lemon, extra-virgin olive oil and rosemary. Rosemary is a very woody, perennial herb with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves. The name is derived from the Latin for �dew� (ros) and �sea� (marinus) or �dew of the sea�. You will often find rosemary in stuffings and accompanying dishes of roast lamb, pork, chicken and turkey. According to legend, rosemary was draped around the Greek goddess Aphrodite, when she rose from the sea. While often utilized as a decorative plant in gardens, it also has pest control effects. As well as this, rosemary is used in perfumes, burnt as an incense and also used in shampoos and other cleaning products. In the Middle Ages it was associated with wedding ceremonies and the bride would wear a rosemary headpiece and, thus, rosemary was thought to be a love charm. In myth, rosemary has the reputation for improving memory, though there is no science is confirm this.

This isn't really a dish than can be 'played with' or altered. Calling for mostly fresh ingredients (including the sprigs of rosemary and cloves of garlic), this is a very luxurious chicken soup recipe and should be followed to the ingredient. Once you taste this dish, you'll know why substitutions just won't do. The addition of Parmesan cheese and heavy cream make this a not-so-diet soup, but that's okay. You can splurge every now and then! And if you're going to splurge, make sure you do it with this chicken gnocchi soup.