Tobie Puttock’s recipe for chicken soup

CHICKEN SOUP

Preparation time: 1.5 hours

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 free-range organic chicken,
• about 14kg 1 onion, peeled and finely sliced
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and sliced diagonally
• 2 sticks celery, sliced diagonally
• 1 leek, trimmed, washed and thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced
• 3 bay leaves
• Small handful sage
• 2 cups peas
• Parmesan
• Sea salt and pepper

Method:

Place the chicken into a heavy based stock-pot, add the onion, carrot, celery, leek, garlic, bay leaves and the sage and add enough cold water to the pot so that the chicken is submerged (about three litres).

Bring to a boil and reduce to a gentle simmer.

After 1-? hours the chicken will be cooked and you will have a wonderful chicken stock.

Turn off the heat, remove and discarded the sage and then very carefully transfer the chicken to a plate or large bowl and set aside until it’s cool enough to handle at which time you can pick all of the meat from the chicken discarding the bones/carcass.

Set the meat aside.

If necessary skim the stock once again and then bring to a gentle simmer, add the peas and the chicken to the pot and simmer for a further minute before removing the pot from the heat.

Have a taste and season with salt and pepper.

Serve the soup with a good pinch of grated Parmesan.