Budget Friendly Chicken Soup

Serves 4-8 (depending on portion size and how many people ask for seconds!)

Prep time – 10 Minutes | Cooking Time – 3-6 hours

A budget-friendly version of our Classic Chicken Soup, this recipe uses a chicken carcass as its base. We do not recommend trying this with one from the butcher, as they tend to strip the carcass very clean, but rather, if you are butchering your own chicken, you can leave a little extra meat on the bones, to stretch the chicken that bit further. Not all chickens imbue the same amount of flavour, and if the carcass does not have much meat left on it, you may wish to add a stock cube at the end to give an extra punch of flavour. This recipe will work better still if you can use two carcasses.

Leftovers (or the whole soup) can be spun out into delicious Miso Chicken Ramen.

For a fuller flavour, and another budget-friendly option, use the whole chicken, and once the soup is cooked, remove the chicken, allow it to cool, then pull off and portion out all the meat. It can easily be frozen for use at a later date, and is great in sandwich fillings, salads, stir fries and pies. Ideal for meal prepping and ensuring you always have a healthy lunch option to hand.

Serve with lokshen or traditional matzah balls (kneidlach) to complete the dish.

Ingredients:

• Chicken Carcass & Giblets (place in mesh bag for ease of removal)
• 3 Carrots, chunked
• 2 Parsnips, chunked
• 1 Leek, chunked
• 4-6 sticks of Celery, chopped
• 2 Red Onions, halved
• 2-3 cloves Garlic
• Generous seasoning of salt and pepper.
• 3 litres cold Water

Method:

1. Place all the ingredients into a large stock pot, (in soup nets if you prefer), bring to a simmer and cook partially covered for 2 hours, without allowing the pot to fully boil.
2. Skim off any scum and fat that has formed on the surface, then leave to cook, partially covered, for a further 2 hours.
3. Remove from the heat, and when cool enough, remove the chicken from the pot and carefully separate the flesh from the bones and skin, taking extra care to remove any small bone fragments.
4. Strain the broth into a separate vessel and reserve the vegetables.
5. Many argue that the soup is better the next day. At this stage you may wish to refrigerate the soup overnight, and skim any fat off the top when cooled.
6. When ready to serve, add chicken and vegetables back to the broth, along with kneidlach, and bring back to temperature, ensuring the soup and kneidlach are piping hot before serving.
7. If serving with lokshen, we prefer to cook the lokshen separately in boiling water or some of the soup for a few minutes, then place a little in each bowl and ladle soup on top.