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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
Course Soup
Cuisine English
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

  1. Pick off some of the chicken off the carcass and leave in a separate bowl.
  2. 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.
  3. Add the celery, onions, the roughly chopped carrots and roughly chopped leeks, the parsley and the stock.
  4. Season with pepper.
  5. Simmer gently for about 2 hours.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. Stir through the cooked barley, season to taste, and serve with a bit of chopped parsley leaves on top.