Carrabba's Spicy Sicilian Chicken Soup (Aka: Mama Mandola's

• servings: 6 servings
• active time: 15 minutes
• total time: 1 hour

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 celery ribs (cut into slices)

3 carrots (peeled and cut into slices)

1 small yellow onion (diced)

1/2 cup red bell pepper (diced)

1 and ½ pounds chicken breast

4 garlic cloves (minced)

1 russet potato (cut into ½ inch cubes)

1 can of petite diced tomatoes (14.5 ounce)

2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (omit for a mild version)

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon salt

4 cups water

4 cups chicken broth

1 and ½ cups ditalini pasta

Directions

Heat a large pot over medium heat and add in the olive oil, celery, carrots, onion, bell pepper. Sauté for about 10 minutes until the vegetables just start to soften.

Add in the: chicken breast (I like to cut mine in half to make shredding easier), garlic, potatoes, can of tomatoes, parsley, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper, water, and chicken broth. Bring this to a full boil for about a minute then lower to a low simmer for 45 minutes - covered.

After the 45 minutes, pull out the cooked chicken and shred. You can just pull it apart using 2 forks. Add the chicken back to the pot along with your pasta and bring to a full boil again. Cook for the amount of time needed for your pasta. (Ditalini is typically about 10 minutes)

We like to serve our soup with a little extra parsley on top and a few pieces of bread for dipping.

We love to make this super easy focaccia bread to go with this soup!