2 tasty ways with chicken soup
Try these two tasty ways with chicken soup – the first one is perfect for a quick midweek meal, the second one for when you’re feeling just a tiny bit fancy.
Basic (but delicious) chicken soup:
Place a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add 15 ml olive oil and 4 cloves crushed garlic to the saucepan and fry gently for a minute. Add one pack of chunky vegetable soup mix and fry for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly golden and fragrant. Add one carton of organic chicken stock and top up with water until the veggies are covered. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer over medium-high heat for 30–40 minutes until softened. Place the free range chicken breasts in the pot and poach them in the simmering soup for the last 10–15 minutes. Remove from the soup and allow to cool. Tear the chicken into pieces and add back to the soup, along with a squeeze of lemon and crispy fried herbs.
The smooth & spicy version:
Follow the cooking instructions for the first soup, however before you place the cooled, shredded chicken back in the soup, let the soup cool down slightly and blend with a hand blender until smooth. Drizzle the soup with smokey paprika oil*, add a swirl of yoghurt, season with black pepper, and dress with crispy fried celery or basil leaves, before adding the shredded chicken as a final touch.
*To make paprika oil, heat ¼ cup of olive oil in a saucepan, remove when warm and stir in a generous shake of smoked Spanish paprika.
Cook’s note: to make both versions of the soup go further, cook 1 cup of barley in a saucepan with 1 litre of water for 30–40 minutes, drain and then stir into the cooked soup to serve.
Not in the mood to cook?