Mediterranean Chicken Soup

Mediterranean Chicken Soup

On a cold snowy January afternoon, a pot of broth had simmered away on the stove for nearly 24 hours.  I craved chicken soup, but something different from the usual fare. Some recently thawed roma tomatoes and 2 partially eaten rotisserie chickens -- the bones were used for broth -- also needed to be used. So here is what I developed. It passed the kitty sniff test, and Maudemarie said it tasted like chicken tacos...perhaps because of the oregano?  

4 quarts chicken broth (approximately) - homemade broth is ideal
4-5 cups chopped cooked chicken meat
2 cups roma tomatoes, pureed in blender (or a 32 oz can tomato puree would probably be equivalent)
1 large fennel bulb, finely chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 small garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon (or more) oregano
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoon salt
pepper, to taste
3 medium russet potatoes (I used baked potatoes, but fresh potatoes would also work)
3 cups green beans (frozen work just fine)
parmesan (sprinkled on top)

Bring broth to boil. Combine all ingredients except green beans (unless the potatoes are already cooked, in which case wait on them also). Simmer for an hour or so. Add the green beans and simmer for another 15+ minutes, until cooked. Other vegetables can also be added, as desired, although I enjoyed the simplicity of this combination, sprinkled with parmesan and freshly ground pepper, served with a crusty slice of bread.