05-08 Chicken Soup For The Swole

Don’t throw away your Sunday roast carcass – there are useful proteins and minerals hidden within, not to mention plenty of recovery-boosting

collagen. Instead, use it to concoct this frugal yet delicious soup.

The power of chicken soup – aka Jewish penicillin – to nourish, comfort, strengthen and cure is legendary. Quite literally, in fact, for its secrets and ingredients invariably differ depending on who you ask. Despite its association with Ashkenazi Jewish culture, some claim that the origins lie in ancient Greece, or even China. Many, if not most, Jewish people will cite their grandparents’ recipe as the definitive. Some include gamier ‘boiling fowl’; others insist on the best chicken you can buy. But the one thing on which all can agree is that the most important ingredients are love, time and care.

INGREDIENTS

(SERVES 6)

• LEFTOVER CARCASS OR BONES

• 1KG CHICKEN WINGS AND/OR DRUMSTICKS

• 3 CARROTS, PEELED AND ROUGHLY CHOPPED

• 1 PARSNIP, PEELED AND ROUGHLY CHOPPED

• 3 CELERY STICKS, ROUGHLY CHOPPED

• 2 SKIN-ON ONIONS, QUARTERED

• 1 BAY LEAF

• 1 HANDFUL PARSLEY STALKS

• 1 TBSP PEPPERCORNS

HOW TO MAKE IT

01 Pop your carcass and chicken pieces into a large saucepan along with the veg. Cover with water and bring to a very slow boil, skimming any white foam off the top.

02 Once it’s been simmering for about 11/2 hrs, remove from the heat. Take out the bird and pick off all the meat before setting aside, along with the veg. Strain the broth through a sieve and return it to the cooking pot, along with the carcass. Cook for another 1 hr, then strain again.

03 Refrigerate overnight, then scoop the rendered fat (schmaltz) off the top – it’s full of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats. For

a traditional Jewish soup, warm the broth and serve with matzah balls, chopped carrots, torn chicken meat and fresh parsley. Or use the broth for one of the recipe ideas below.

REMIX IT

Sweat an onion in butter, then add a tin of sweetcorn. Blend this with the broth and top with basil.

Combine with onion, garlic, thyme, rosemary and 100g of bacon for an extra 17g of protein. For a nutrient superboost, add Brussels sprout leaves, spinach and crushed chestnuts.