Perfect Chicken Soup (0 syns)
This has to be THE BEST chicken soup recipe I have ever tasted! Yes, it takes a while to make – BUT it is well worth it. Actually, the actual preparation time is quite low – and most of the cooking is just letting the pan simmer for 2h or so. Seriously, if you’ve got a left over carcass of a chicken, try this recipe. This one is based on one I found in The Guardian by the wonderful Felicity Cloake
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 15 minutes
Servings 4 people
Ingredients
- A leftover chicken carcass or 1kg of drumsticks/thighs
- 2 sticks of celery roughly chopped
- 2 onions roughly chopped
- 3 carrots 2 roughly chopped, one peeled and more finely chopped and kept separate
- 3 leeks 2 roughly chopped, 1 more finely chopped and kept separate
- Mixed chopped carrot leek and suede mixture – for stews/soups (available in some supermarkets like Morrisons) – means you don’t need the finely chopped versions above.
- Small bunch of parsley
- 1000 ml chicken stock cold
- 200 g barley cooked (pearl or wholegrain) – or use Gallo’s 3 grain box (rice, spelt and barley).
Method
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Pick off some of the chicken off the carcass and leave in a separate bowl.
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Put the remaining chicken carcass in a large pan and just cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and skim off the scum from the top – this is important, as it will give the finished soup a greasy, unpleasant flavour.
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Add the celery, onions, the roughly chopped carrots and roughly chopped leeks, the parsley and the stock.
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Season with pepper.
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Simmer gently for about 2 hours.
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Strain the soup through a fine sieve – do not pick off any meat to add to the soup – it will be too tough and rubbery. Instead, use the chicken you picked off and set aside.
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Return the soup to the pan, add the remaining finely chopped carrot and leek (or carrot, leak suede) and cook for 10 minutes until these are soft.
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Stir through the cooked barley, season to taste, and serve with a bit of chopped parsley leaves on top.