Whole Chicken Soup

This recipe originally published by David Herbert in the Weekend Australian Magazine has become a winter favourite of ours. It has a few ingredients admittedly but it easily serves 6 and so for Mary and me it provides a couple of meals.

Peel or scrub

6 carrots

3 parsnips

6 small turnips (or 1 small swede)

3 leeks

1 small onion studded with 2 cloves

2 celery stalks

1 clove garlic

Take a 1.5kg chicken put one of the sticks of celery inside it and place in a large pot.

Cut the leeks and all other vegies into 2cm (i.e bite size) thick rounds or chunks and surround the chicken with them. Add 2 bay leaves,garlic and 4 sprigs of thyme and cover the chicken with water or chicken stock. Bring to the boil and simmer gently uncovered for 1 hour. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve portions of chicken (e.g break into legs , thighs, breast pieces etc ) in bowls sprinkled with as much of 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley and chives as desired and ladle the broth over as much as desired.

Match with a chardonnay and serve with farm buttered sourdough (optional of course)