Spring chicken soup

Spring is in the air, and if that’s got your allergies up you’ll want something hot and steamy to eat. Chicken soup, of course!

Dig in: spring chicken soup with parsley pistou

Spring is in the air, and if that’s got your allergies up you’re probably searching for something steamy to help open those nasal passages. Chicken soup, of course! This soup is a brighter, greener spin on tradition.

SPRING CHICKEN SOUP WITH PARSLEY PISTOU

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 leeks, white and pale green parts, finely sliced

2 sticks celery, finely sliced

1 parsnip, peeled and diced

¼ cup white wine

2 litres chicken stock or broth

1 potato, peeled and diced

Accoutrements

1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2cm pieces

1 bunch broccolini, trimmed and cut into 2cm pieces

1 cup frozen peas

100g snow peas, finely sliced

100g sugar snap peas, cut in half down the spine

2 cups shredded poached chicken (see recipe)

Parsley pistou

100g parsley

50g baby spinach leaves

150m extra virgin olive oil

½ cup toasted walnuts

4 cloves garlic, peeled

1 teaspoon sea salt flakes

Lots of freshly ground pepper

In a large pot, heat the olive oil, add the sliced leeks, celery and parsnip and sweat with the lid on for 10 minutes until softened. Splash in the white wine and cook off the alcohol for another minute or two. Pour in the stock and bring everything to just before the boil. Plonk in the diced potato and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes until spuds are fork-tender but holding their shape.

Meanwhile, make the pistou by pouring water from a just-boiled kettle through the parsley and spinach leaves in a colander, leave to drain then add to a food processor with oil, walnuts, garlic, salt and lots of pepper. Think of this as the soup’s extra seasoning.

When ready to serve, bring soup back to just before the boil, add the green accoutrements and cook for 4-5 minutes until they have turned a bright shade of emerald but still with some bite. Shred through some poached chicken. Ladle into bowls; add a big blob of pistou. Serves 6

Poached chicken

1 x 1.6kg free-range chicken

1 stick celery, roughly chopped

1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped

1 leek, roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, bruised

6 peppercorns

1 bay leaf

Place chicken in a large pot, arrange all the other ingredients around, cover with water and bring to the boil. Once at boil, drop to a simmer, skimming off any foam that comes to the surface. Simmer for 1 hour, then leave to cool a little in the liquid. When cool enough to handle, strain out the solids (reserve). Remove the chicken meat and skin from the bones, then place the bones back into the liquid. Continue to simmer for another hour. Use the flavoursome broth as the base of chicken soup, or reheat to piping hot and pour over the reserved veg and picked chicken as desired. Poached chicken can also be used for salad or sandwiches/rolls.

Top tips

If you’ve got some roasted chicken handy, shred some through this soup as a shortcut and use a good quality shop-bought stock

Want to keep the accoutrements simple? Just toss in a cup of frozen peas and some broccoli florets instead

For a plant-based version, use vegetable stock and maybe add a few shiitake mushrooms to the broth.

Any remaining Pistou can be loosened with a little olive olive and used as a dip.