Leftover Roast Chicken Soup

For your homemade chicken stock… 

• 2 onions
• 2 carrots
• 2 sticks of celery
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 5 peppercorns
• 1 free-range roast chicken carcass

For the final soup…

• 50g unsalted butter
• olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 carrots, finely chopped
• 2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
• 1 onion, finely sliced
• 1 x 400g of butter beans
• 200g baby spinach
• 100g kale
• 1 lemon
• salt & pepper, to season
• a few sprigs of fresh flat-leaf parsley

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We’re going to start making homemade chicken stock. You can do this with your chicken stock every time, freeze it for up to 2 months and you’ll always find a use for it.

Into a roasting dish, add carrots, onions and celery. Don’t worry about peeling. Just chuck them in.

Pick off ANY remaining chicken from your carcass and set it aside and sit on top of your veggies. Roast in a preheated oven at 220°C/425°F/gas 7 for 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and pop straight into a deep saucepan with your bay leaves and peppercorns and pour enough water to submerge your ingredients. Bring to the boil and then drop to a simmer for 1 hour. The longer you reduce it, the more intense the flavour. As it simmers, occasionally scrape off any ‘scummy bits floating to the top.

Strain your stock with a sieve over a bowl so you are left with a silky-smooth broth. Do a final skim of the top and your rich stock is ready to use or store.

To kickstart your soup, pop the butter in a pan with garlic, onion, carrot, celery (all finely chopped) and soften for 10 minutes. Add your homemade stock, the chicken you pulled from the carcass and the butter beans and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Add your greens and allow them to wilt before seasoning, squeezing in fresh lemon and serving.