Chicken, Sausage, and Fennel Soup

My husband loved a chicken and fennel soup he had at a nice Italian restaurant, so I developed this recipe over a couple years of trial and error. Now it's nothing like the original, but it's definitely one of our favorites. Friends and family rave about it. This is a great dish for company. I like to have this about halfway done when my guests arrive. We always end up in the kitchen anyway, and it's so easy, you can enjoy a glass of wine while you work. Serve in a bowl with a crusty roll and a dry white wine.

• Preparation Time: 20 mins
• Cooking Time: 1 hr 50 mins
• Total Time: 2 hr 10 mins
• Calories: 309 Calories

Ingredients

• ¼ teaspoon salt
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 ½ cups chicken stock
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• ½ cup uncooked brown rice
• 2 tablespoons salted butter
• 1 bulb fennel, chopped
• 1 medium sweet onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon fennel seed, crushed
• ½ pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cubed into bite-sized pieces
• ½ pound Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen shelled edamame

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and butter in a pot over low heat. Add fennel, onion, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to the hot pot; saute for 20 to 30 minutes. Add fennel seed and saute, 15 minutes more, until vegetables are very soft and the flavors have developed; be careful not to brown them.

Step 2

Increase the heat to medium. Add chicken and sausage; cook and stir until browned, about 10 minutes. Drain off fat. Add remaining tablespoon oil and brown rice; cook and stir, about 5 minutes. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil.

Step 3

Cook, covered, about 45 minutes. Add frozen shelled edamame and cook, covered, another 10 minutes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and serve, or remove the lid and evaporate some of the liquid if you want it to be thicker.