Chicken Soup

Home made chicken soup is one of those wonderful winter miracle foods.  I cook this if myself or anyone else in the family are feeling under the weather and in need of a good pick-me-up.  It's like a food cuddle really and definitely worth the time and effort involved in the preparation.  The soup can be made over two days but my recipe below can be done in one day.  I remove the skin and all excess fat from my chicken but if you didn't want to do this then you'd need to let the stock sit overnight so you could remove the fat.  I've used this recipe for many years and I think I originally found it on taste.com.

What you will need for the stock:

• Whole organic chicken
• 1 brown onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 2 large celery stalks, chopped
• 10 whole black peppercorns
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 5 flat-leaf parsley stalks

What you will need for the soup:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium leek, washed and diced
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
• 2 large celery stalks, diced
• 2 small to medium zucchini, diced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

 What you need to do:

1. Remove chicken skin and trim any excess fat.  Place chicken in a large saucepan or stock pot.  Add onion, carrot, celery, peppercorns, bay leaves and parsley stalks.  Add enough cold water to just cover the chicken.

2.  Cover and bring to the boil then reduce heat to low.  Simmer, part covered, for about an hour or until chicken is cooked through.  You may want to skim the surface during cooking.

3. Remove from heat and lift chicken from the broth and place on a plate.  Strain the broth through a sieve and discard the vegetables.  Allow the stock to cool.

4. Remove the chicken from the bones and set aside.

5. Begin to prepare the soup by heating the oil in the stock pot and then cooking the leek and garlic over a medium heat for about 5 minutes.  Add the carrot and celery and cook until they begin to soften.

6. Add the stock and chicken and cover to bring to the boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes.

7. Add the zucchini and simmer, covered, for another 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

8. Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped parsley before serving.

I have included below step by step photos if you want or need them:

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Rice with Quinoa, Spinach and Capers

This is another one of my super fast lunch ideas but you can also serve it as a side dish with dinner.

What you will need:

3/4 cup basmati rice
1/4 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
handful of baby spinach leaves
1 tablespoon baby capers

What you need to do:

1. Bring stock, rice and quinoa to the boil and then reduce heat to low.  Cover and cook for 12 minutes.

2. Fluff rice and quinoa and stir through spinach and capers.

3. Cover again and allow to sit for another 5 minutes before serving.

Notes:  I find the quinoa gives this quick dish all the flavour it needs but feel free to add a splash of your favourite dressing, or some lemon juice and olive oil, if you want something more.  I don't drain the capers so the liquid they are in also adds flavour to the rice.  You could add whatever you like, peas, olives, cherry tomatoes, or whatever else takes your fancy.