Another spin on chicken soup

You’ve got to have this to make your life easier – muslin soup bags (also known as a stock sock)

500g chicken wings

1kg chicken thighs (no skin)

4 large stalks of celery (keep the tops and leaves)

2 large parsnips – peeled and roughly chopped

3 bay leaves

5 sprigs of fresh time

2 sprigs of fresh dill

5 stalks of flat leaf parsley

1 whole bulb of garlic – peeled and roughly chopped

1 thumb sized piece of ginger – peeled and grated

4 large carrots – peeled and quartered and cut in to 1cm chunks

1 finely chopped brown onion

1 leek. Rinsed and quartered and cut in to thin slices

1 orange.

Salt and pepper for seasoning

Method

Roast the chicken wings for about 35mins until golden brown. Reserve the fat.

In to the soup bag – chicken wings, celery tops and leaves, thyme, bay leaves, dill, parsnips, garlic. Tie a big knot to make sure nothing escapes.

With the fat you reserved from the chicken wings, fry off the onion, celery, leek, carrot until they soften.

Add the ginger.

Add the chicken thighs and the soup bag.

Cover with boiling water.

Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer for 2 1/2 – 3 hours – until the chicken thighs are tender and break apart with little resistance.

Turn off the heat.

Remove the soup bag, squeeze out any liquid, then discard.

Remove the chicken thighs. Roughly cut them into bite sized chunks. You can keep this separate or add it back in to your soup – personal taste.

Juice the orange, add the juice to the soup. Season with salt and pepper.

Allow the soup to cool and skim off the fat. The easiest way to do this is to cool it overnight in the fridge and remove the fat layer in the morning.

I like to serve it with thin egg noodles or matzo balls. A garnish of parsley or dill or even celery leaves.

Enjoy!