This is one of my favourite soups; it’s so nutritious and excellent for freezing. It’s such a versatile recipe base, change up the veges, add different herbs and spices. After the 90-day Challenge add a couple of cans of corn and some soy sauce for another twist yummo!
SERVES: 8-10
TIME TO PLATE: 30 MINUTES PREP THEN 2-4 HOURS
WHAT YOU NEED:
- 2 litres chicken/vege stock
- 6-8 chicken thighs (bone in – skin off)
- 5 sprigs of thyme
- 2-3 large leeks, roughly chopped
- 3-4 large carrots, roughly chopped
- ½ celery plant, roughly chopped
HOW TO MAKE:
- Rinse the veges, and chop (watch as you get to the darker green leaves of the leeks as lots of dirt hides there) for the carrots only peel if there is thick skin.
- Place all veg in a large pot with thyme.
- Remove skin and trim extra fat and other bloody bits from the chicken thighs, remove any little bits of bone and lay chicken pieces on top of the veg.
- Pour the stock over the chicken in the pot – I top my pot up with another 500 mills of water just because I have some more room!
- Simmer for as long and low as you can – anywhere from 2 to 4 hours, the longer you leave the more nutrients you get from the chicken bones and the chicken gets really, really soft.
- To finish, remove chicken pieces and the thyme stalks from the broth, chop/shred chicken.
- For the broth you can leave as is, totally blend (use a stick blender or if you are using a blender jug make sure the broth is cooled and do in small batches. I use a potato masher as I like veg a little chunky.
- Return chicken to base, warm through and serve.