chicken

feel good chicken broth

servings
Serves 6

method

When I was young and felt unwell with a cold or a headache, my mum would make this soup to help me feel better. It used to make me feel like a million dollars after I'd eaten it. It's probably one of the simplest soups to make because it just involves slowly boiling a whole chicken in a pot with a few roughly chopped root veg. The fat marbles on top during cooking, but underneath it is nice and clear, like a consommé. Like consommé, if you want to serve this at a dinner party or you want to vary its flavour, the actual soup will always stay the same but the garnish that you add can differ from mushrooms, to florets of cauliflower, to julienned veg. Another nice thing you can do is add a splash of sherry or port just before serving to give it a little twang. All these things are great to try, but I just really like my mum's simple chicken broth. Her secret ingredient was a rasher of smoked bacon, and sometimes she'd add a few sprigs of rosemary for the last ten minutes.

Put your chicken, carrot, celery and bacon in a large saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and simmer slowly for an hour and a quarter, skimming the white residue off the top every now and again. Add your rosemary sprigs, shitake mushrooms and sherry (if you are using it) for the last 10 minutes, then remove the chicken from the pan. It should be perfectly cooked, and will be great for salads or sandwiches or for tearing into slivers to put into the soup. Season the soup with salt and ladle it through a sieve into bowls, trying not to disrupt it too much as you want to keep it reasonably clear. Add the chicken slivers and a few mushrooms to each bowl and drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil. The finished thing should be a kinda clear consommé.

• from Jamie's Dinners

ingredients

• 1 x 1.5kg free-range organic chicken
• 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 sticks of celery, roughly chopped
• 1 rasher of smoked bacon, preferably free-range or organic
• 2/3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• a handful of shitake mushrooms
optional: a splash of sherry or port
• sea salt
• extra virgin olive oil

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tried this recipe or a similar one? share your tips...

1. by kelly on Fri 03 Feb 2012 @ 00:47

i make something similar except i use chicken drumsticks... i put potatoes, carrots, celery, mushrooms, onions and green beans in a big pot with the chicken on top with whatever spices i feel like that day. Sometimes i add a half chicken cube for extra kick! Then bring it to a boil and turn down the heat to simmer for about 45 mins to an hour and voila! I agree, nothing makes you feel better on a cold day or when you have the sniffles :)

2. by Maricruz on Sun 22 Jan 2012 @ 16:48

This broth is quite common in Mexico, but we don´t use chicken breast, because it doesn´t have flavor. If you want it really tasty try using the rib, wings and thies.

3. by puput on Thu 10 Nov 2011 @ 21:05

Tried it today. Super delicious :)

4. by Felicity on Mon 24 Oct 2011 @ 21:26

My grandma makes this exact same soup, i haven't tried this recipe so i dont know if it tastes the same but its made the same, hers is always quite salty with slivers of chicken in it i think she has put mushrooms in, in the past, but she mainly keeps it simple too it's definately best that way ay mr.oliver hehe.... and it's freakin delicious....she always makes it for me with the leftovers of her sunday dinner chicken and freezes it for me to eat when i go over next....gotta love grandmas....bless her heart. Xx

5. by Jill on Mon 08 Aug 2011 @ 13:56

My daughter didnt like it, maybe it wasnt salty enough? she didnt like the mushrooms, I need to strain it better next time, i thought it was yummy!

6. by Nomi on Tue 12 Jul 2011 @ 16:49

port was a great addition, needed a lot of salt even tho I used several bacon medallions. Added Garlic, Bay leaf, thyme and onion, ginger and put a chili in for fifteen minutes. I didnt strain. Wud be delicious reduced down a bit more and spooned over an island of creamy mashed potatoes and leeks (kind of like a leek mash mountain if you will)....

7. by Frank on Sat 28 May 2011 @ 12:59

Yep there is a veggie version - just omit the chicken The soup will then be tasteless apart from the veg.

8. by honorablekate on Sun 15 Aug 2010 @ 21:41

i wish there was a vegetarian version of this ...thy is is that it is always 'chicken' soup that is so good for curing colds and flue does anyone know?

9. by chef du jour on Fri 12 Jun 2009 @ 18:27

the addition of parsnips is realy good too. It adds body and flavor. Just cut up like the carrots.
I also add a bit of galic and onion with peel ( it helps add color) the secret to it not being too "watery" is to add just enough water to cover the chicken, try to keep it from boiling and just let it simmer a long time. If after you have refrigerated it becomes gelatinous, you have really made a good one!! That means its really rich! Some chefs say to never let this boil and to just cook very slowly to render out as much flavor as possible from the chicken.

10. by sinead on Tue 10 Mar 2009 @ 14:00

I made this today, added rosemary at the end, angel hair pasta and topped bowls with fresh parmesan. Yummy!

11. by targetrich on Sat 28 Feb 2009 @ 14:36

Well, having put it off for a while, I made it today with a whole chicken and all the bits suggested. Mine was watery in the end, but the chicken was perfectly cooked (accident, not design). Did I put too much water in - it covered the chicken but no more? I take it we're not to add any veggies to the bowls save for the mushrooms.

I've put it back on with a bit of chicken breast and am going to simmer it down more. Although I confess, I don't really know what I'm doing!

12. by bolt.storm on Mon 16 Feb 2009 @ 21:22

I really like this.................................. " i think i'll make slipping noise for fun lol" just kidding!!! lol

13. by sunset on Sun 01 Feb 2009 @ 13:14

I'll give it a try today to warm up one cold-from-the-winter boyfriend! :D

14. by peter on Sun 25 Jan 2009 @ 23:26

I am a new cook on the block-it's simple made for me

15. by Benjamin on Sun 14 Dec 2008 @ 09:03

Very simple, but delicious.
Got a bit worried halfway through when the broth still tasted like water, but worked out fine.

I don't normally eat much salt with food, but gave this a good helping. :)

16. by josephine on Fri 28 Nov 2008 @ 13:42

what's simple is true! i love food like that, whenever i feel sad or stressed i prepare somthing like your soup to cheer my self up.

17. by Zsolt on Mon 24 Nov 2008 @ 15:14

Nice and tasty soup. Thanks for the extra twang and seasoning.
I usually cook my chicken broth in a nine- liter pressure cooker, because it’s time saving, healthy, and no need for skimming before putting the veggies inside. I put chicken giblets, veggies (as you have above), whole clove of garlic, peppercorns, half of the onion with skin, bay leaf and whole stalks of parsley. After I pour the cold water inside and cover with lid. I lower the heat to minimum when the pressure cooker starts to whistle, then it takes me only 30-35 minutes to cook the soup. I let the steam out from the cooker and strain the soup at the end.

Many people are afraid of the pressure cooker (Oh my God, this will explode!), so maybe you could demonstrate in your easy style that there’s nothing to worry. It’s just an idea for busy parents how to cook quickly and to have a good and cheap chicken soup.
Also, leftovers can be used for cooking veggies in a tinfoil (as it was presented in Jamie’s series).

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