Chicken, sweetcorn & noodle soup

Serves 8 Prep 15 mins Cook 1½ hrs

2 large carrots, chopped 2 large leeks, trimmed and finely sliced 2 corn on the cobs, corn kernels cut off 200g vermicelli noodles small bunch parsley, finely chopped FOR THE STOCK 2 onions, quartered 1 leek, cut into chunks 2 carrots, thickly sliced 2 bay leaves 6 black peppercorns handful of parsley stalks 4 celery sticks, roughly chopped 2 tbsp vegetable bouillon or 1 vegetable

stock cube 1.3kg chicken

1 Put all the stock ingredients and the chicken in a very large saucepan, then cover everything with about three litres of cold water. Bring to the boil, then simmer and cook for 1 hr-1½ hrs, until the chicken is thoroughly cooked. Skim off any froth every 20 mins or so. Remove the chicken to a plate to cool. Strain the stock through a sieve, skimming off as much fat as you can.

2 Rinse out the pan and put the stock back in, then simmer on a high heat until reduced a little – you’ll need about 2 litres in total. Add the carrots and leeks, then simmer for 10 mins.

3 Meanwhile, shred the meat from the chicken, discarding the skin and bones. Add to the pan with the sweetcorn. Add the vermicelli noodles, unless you want to freeze the soup, and simmer for about 7 mins more, until the corn and pasta is cooked. Ladle into bowls, sprinkled with the parsley.

4 To freeze, allow the soup to cool completely before freezing. When you’re ready to eat, allow the soup to defrost before bringing it back to a gentle simmer in a pan. Add the noodles and simmer until cooked. PER SERVING 288 kcals, fat 9g, saturates 3g, carbs 28g, sugars 5g, fibre 2g, protein 25g, salt 0.7g

By freezing the soup in small portions in freezer bags or tubs, they will defrost quicker

You can freeze the chopped parsley in a small bag: just sprinkle into the soup with the noodles