From the menu of . . . Sweet Tomatoes, 6340 Peachtree-Dunwoody Road, Atlanta; 770-913-0203; www.sweettomatoes.com
Q. Is there a chance that you can acquire the recipe for Chicken Divan Soup from Sweet Tomatoes restaurants? It is delicious. Thank you so much.
Vicki Vann, Dunwoody
A. Sweet Tomatoes pulled out all the stops to provide this recipe for us. There are 115 salad buffet-style restaurants across the western, southern and eastern United States, with four here in the Atlanta area. Their daily section of made-from-scratch soups, salads and muffins rotates throughout the year, and they put the Chicken Divan Soup recipe back on the menu just so we could share it with you. Chicken base can be found in the soup section of your grocery store.
Sweet Tomatoes Chicken Divan Soup
Hands on: 20 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes
Makes 20 cups
1/4 pound gemelli pasta
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 pounds broccoli crowns, cut into 1-inch florets and 1/2-inch pieces of stalk, divided
2 1/2 cups diced yellow onion
2 1/2 cups diced celery
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 cups water
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 pound Velveeta cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons chicken base
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 cups half-and-half
1 1/4 pounds roasted chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
In a large soup pot, bring six cups of water to a boil. Add pasta and salt; stir to keep pasta from sticking. Boil until cooked through, approximately 10 minutes. Strain out the pasta into a colander, leaving water in pot, and set aside.
In the same pot, return the water to a boil. Add broccoli florets and cook for one minute. Drain into colander with pasta. Discard cooking water.
In the same pot, combine broccoli stalk pieces, onion, celery, oil and garlic. Sauté over medium heat for five minutes. Stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add water, mushrooms, cheese, chicken base and black pepper. Simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes. Add half and half and simmer 5 minutes more. Add chicken, pasta and broccoli florets and cook until heated through. Season to taste.
Per 1-cup serving: 286 calories (percent of calories from fat, 51), 20 grams protein, 17 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 17 grams fat (9 grams saturated), 66 milligrams cholesterol, 835 milligrams sodium.
Is there a restaurant recipe you'd like to make at home? Tell us and we'll try to get it. We'll also test it and adapt it for the home kitchen. Because of volume, we can't answer all inquiries. Send your request, your address and phone number to svanatten@ajc.com and put "From the menu of" in the subject line.
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