There is nothing more heart-warming on a cold winter’s day than sitting down to a bowl of hot soup. At first glance, chicken broth is an easy soup made from chicken, vegetables and water. But underneath its simplicity is a beautiful dish that is loved at all times of the year but even more so during the cold winter months. So, we are delighted to share with you our Head Chef Craig Gibb’s recipe for Chicken Broth.
Chicken Broth
2 large chicken legs
500g broth mix
4 carrots
1 celery
1 leek
1 onion
1 clove garlic
Sprig of thyme
1 bay leaf
Salt and coarse black pepper
Olive oil
-cover your broth mix with cold water in a bowl, and leave for 24 hours
For the chicken and stock
-season the chicken legs with salt and pepper
-roughly chop 1 carrot *no need to peel*
-add a little olive oil to pan, seal the chicken legs till golden, add thyme, bay leaf, carrots and garlic, then add 2 litres of cold water, bring up to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours
-when the legs are ready remove from stock and allow to cool
-strain the stock into a bowl and set aside
For the soup
-peel and chop all the veg to the same size, roughly 2cm dice
-add a little olive oil to large pan, add veg, season well with rock salt and ground black pepper and sweat *no colour* for 5 mins
-strain the water of the broth mix, add to pan
-add your chicken stock, cover the veg and broth mix, top up with chicken Oxo if required
-bring the soup up to a gentle simmer, simmer for 30 to 40 mins *you may need to add more water*
-while soup is cooking, pick down your chicken leg meat
-when the broth is cooked, add chicken, switch off heat allow to sit for 4 to 5 minutes
-serve with crusty bread
Enjoy as this quote says
“Chicken broth isn’t just broth. And it isn’t just soup. It’s concentrated healing.”