1leftover cooked chicken carcasswith a bit of the meat still on
cold water
1onionchopped into quarters (no need to peel)
3carrots
1bay leaf
2chicken stock cubescrumbled
1large potatopeeled and chopped into bite-size chunks
¼tspeach of salt and pepper
1tspfresh chopped parsley
Instructions
Place your leftover chicken carcass on a chopping board and pull off any meat you can find on it (pay special attention to the wings and underside of the chicken where you'll find some good pieces). Place the pieces on a plate, cover and refrigerate for later.
1 leftover cooked chicken carcass
Place all the leftover bones and skin from the carcass in a large pan, completely cover it with cold water, so the water comes about 1 inch above the chicken.
cold water
Place the onion, 1 carrot (no need to peel, but you can break it in half), bay leaf and crumbled stock cubes in the water with the chicken.
Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 2-3 hours until the water has reduced by at least half.
After 2-3 hours, place a sieve over a large bowl. Carefully strain the chicken and veg and leave for a couple of minutes so that all the juices drip into the bowl. Pour the juices back into the pan.
Peel and chop the remaining two carrots and place in the pan with the stock.
Add in the chopped potato, salt, and pepper. Bring back to the boil, and simmer gently for 20 minutes until the vegetables are soft and tender. Add in the chicken pieces from the fridge for the last 5 minutes to heat through.
1 large potato, ¼ tsp each of salt and pepper
Ladle into two bowls and serve, topped with the chopped parsley.
1 tsp fresh chopped parsley
Notes
Can I make it ahead?
Yes! You can either make the soup base (stock) ahead, then strain it, cool it and refrigerate or freeze it (you can add the shreds of chicken to it before refrigerating/freezing or wrap separately and store with the soup base). Reheat in a pan (you can add to the pan from frozen) over a low heat until completely melted, then add in the carrots, potatoes and seasoning and simmer for 20 minutes (adding in the chicken shred if you haven't already for the last 5 minutes) until the vegetables have softened.Alternatively you can make the soup completely, then cool, cover and refrigerate or freeze. If refrigerating, you'll notice the soup will go jelly-like, but it will melt to a liquid upon reheating in a pan over a medium heat. Reheat until piping hot throughout.If freezing, you can defrost in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat, or heat it in the pan from frozen over a low heat until piping hot throughout.
Can I make it gluten free?
Yes - simply use gluten free stock cubes.Nutritional Information is per serving.