Sunday Soup #32: 5-Ingredient Pesto Chicken Soup

This past Sunday was Mother's Day, and we had a lot going on in our family, being that I have a terrific wife (who is the mother of my kids) and a mom of my own (duh!). My mom came out from Monterey, we took a nice trip to the Campbell Farmers' Market, we shared a Mother's Day brunch, and we generally just spent the better part of the day in pleasant pursuits. Happy (Belated) Mother's Day to all the mothers who may be reading this...!

So, when it neared dinner time, I wanted to make a soup (hey, it was Sunday!), and I really didn't have the energy for any type of big production... But, then I saw it: a recipe named "5-Ingredient Pesto Chicken Soup!" Sounded like a winner... But would it be any good?

This recipe came from: https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/5-ingredient-pesto-chicken-soup-recipe/

*Pic 1 - Picture from https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/5-ingredient-pesto-chicken-soup-recipe/

My Variations from Recipe as Written: With only five ingredients, there really wasn't much to fiddle with. I used a store-bought pesto instead of using the author's homemade pesto recipe (I wanted easy, remember?), but that was my only deviation from the original recipe.

General Thoughts: Well, truth in advertising here, people... The soup really did have only five ingredients (unless, of course, as previously mentioned, you choose to make the author's homemade pesto recipe, as she suggests). Consequently, it was extremely simple and easy to prepare. From the time I decided that this was the soup I would make, I was able to go out to the store, buy everything I needed, and have it completely ready to serve in under an hour. Admittedly, I bought pre-shredded cooked chicken from the deli, but still... How often do you find a soup that can be homemade with so few ingredients, in so little time, and it still comes out hot and delicious?! If I already had everything I needed in my pantry, I would say the prep/cooking times listed on the recipe (Total Time: 15 minutes) would have been right on, so this is one to remember for a hectic weekday dinner, for sure.

*Pics 2 & 3 - Pictures from when I made it

So, it was quick, but was it yummy? Yeah, pretty much... I can't go overboard and say that it established my new ultimate definition of "tasty soup," but it was solid. The pesto imparted the overriding flavor, and there was no doubt that it was meant to give this soup its character. With that said, pick a quality pesto; either make the author's homemade pesto recipe or buy a brand you know and trust!

The other ingredients worked well, and everything seemed to fit together quite nicely. I found myself wishing I had added a bit of black pepper, and maybe even a dash or two of Italian seasoning (if not, an extra spoonful of pesto), to make the flavor pop a bit more. Also, I'd like to have scooped out two or so cups of the beans and puréed them with an immersion blender (and added them back in) to make this soup feel a little less "brothy" and more substantial.

The texture was a little odd, as well, as I found myself thrown by the little bits of crunchy pine nuts (from the pesto).  Also, next time I may withhold the spinach, and add it with  the pesto instead of at the beginning, so that it doesn't get quite so soft. However, these things were minor complaints.

Polling the Fam: For me, flavor-wise, this soup was good and definitely hit the spot, but didn't set the world on fire. However, with as easy as this one was to make, I could forgive its few shortcomings, make the few the alterations I suggested, and definitely eat it again. Hunter really liked it initially, but I think he got a little sick of the pesto flavor by the end. He said he'd definitely eat it again, but probably wouldn't specifically ask for it.

Verdict: It was okay. (3 stars)