This is a slight iteration of one of my favorite dishes that my mom makes.  I actually prefer this made her way, without the cream; however, my wife and kids prefer it made with the cream. Let me also add that this is my cheat day soup; but, I still want to make it lower calorie. This comes in at roughly 500 calories per bowl. In order to get it so low; and, retain that creamy texture  my wife and kids love, I replaced the heavy cream with half and half and I  removed the butter.  Using a roux and half and half gives us the same texture only without the fat and calories.  You can also take out the roux and half and half if you’d like to save even more. My Moms recipe does just that.  It’s a wonderful flavorful broth soup, that is both light and delicious.  I’ll be making that one I’m the coming weeks. This one, though, is absolutely amazing. 

 —tip —At times I’ll kick up the seasoning to give it a more robust flavor profile. 

To get started we need to prep the following:

2 grilled and diced chicken breasts or meat from a rotisserie chicken 

1 large diced sweat onion 

2 diced celery stalks 

3-4 diced carrots 

4-6 toes of garlic- minced 

1/2 cup of chopped parsley 

Thyme sprigs 

Chopped basil 

Chopped Rosemary 

4-5 cups of chicken stock (low sodium or Fresh ) 

Extra virgin olive oil 

1/2 cup flour 

1-2 cups of half and half 

1 tablespoon of Chicken base for the first cup of half and half and half a tablespoon for each additional cup 

12 ounces of Tortellini 

10 oz of baby spinach 

Fresh grated parmigiana and Asiago cheese 

First thing we do is get our favorite soup pot nice and hot and add in some olive oil.

Cook the onions and celery for about 5 minutes or until just turning clear

Drop in the carrots and cook until softened

Add in the herbs and garlic and cook until fragrant 

Gently pour in the flour and stir with all your might until the flour smell dissipates (before you add the flour you may want to add some oil if the vegetables appear to be to dry) 

When the flour smell has dissipated add in half of the chicken stock and bring to a boil while stirring

At this point you should have a thick liquid, from the roux.  Go ahead and add in the rest of the stock a little at a time until you have a consistency that you like. 

Bring the soup to a boil, then add in one cup half and half and bring it to a boil again. If you want this a bit thicker add the other cup of half and half if not, add in a tablespoon of chicken base and whisk it in until fully incorporated. 

Add in the cooked chicken and let the soup simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally. 

15 minutes before service add in the Tortellini. 

5 minutes before service add to n the spinach 

Serve in a soup bowl garnished with parmigiana and Asiago cheese