Thursday 12 July 2007

Chicken soup for the soul... and everything else

ouI was sitting at my computer tonight thinking "what on earth can I post up on the foodblog today? I haven't cooked anything".

Somehow I had successfully overlooked the fact that I had just made a big pot of chicken soup for a friend of mine who has a nasty cold. How is that for domestic blindness? Anyway, here is Aunty Kiriel's quick, tasty and nutritious chicken soup recipe, which is a sure fire cure for colds and flus.

1/2 a pre-cooked bbq chicken
2 carrots, sliced thinly
1 zucchini, sliced (actually I tend to use broccoli stems, but there wasnt any broccoli in the shop)
1 onion, finely chopped
2 chicken stock cubes
250 grams mushrooms, quartered
100gms mangetout/snow peas 'topped and tailed'
2 litres of water

Strip the chicken off its bones. Put the bones (removing the cartilege) in a pot. Fill with water and bring to the boil. I also add the ends of carrots to the pot and any other vegetable ends that might be handy. Simmer for 45 minutes to make stock, adding any herbs you fancy (basil and oregano are my favourites).

Fry the onion on a medium heat in a separate pot with a little olive oil until it goes a little golden, add the chopped mushrooms. Brown the mushrooms a little. Strain the stock into this pot, discarding the solids.

Add the sliced carrots and the chicken meat, and bring the pot to a simmer. About 15 minutes later, add the sliced zucchini, and one stock cube. Taste, and add a second stock cube if needed.

Add the mangetout a minute before serving, so that it is still bright green and crisp.

2 comments:

evildrakey said...

Any idea how would it go with no oil, steamed chicken instead of roasted, and no stock cubes?

If so, might be a useful recipe for my diet...

Kiriel du Papillon said...

Hmm... the lack of oil wouldn't be a problem; you can steam fry onions. I would throw in some extra herbs and maybe some extra vegies when boiling the chicken bones to make a tastier stock.