Chicken Broth for Autumn Nights

With only five days until I head off to Madrid, what better way to spend my remaining days in England than by spending cosy evenings by the fire, tv remote in one hand and a bowl of chicken broth in the other?

This recipe is just perfect for those feeling a little bit worse for wear, with it’s soothing and flavoursome stock. It’s really simple and cheap to make too – you just need a leftover chicken carcass and a few veggies, then just leave it to simmer for a couple of hours and hey presto – a delicious broth to warm the cockles of your heart!

Ingredients

• The carcass from a roast chicken
• 2 large carrots
• 2 medium onions and 2 large carrots
• 7 sticks of celery
• 2 leeks
• 8-10 large leaves of cabbage or kal
• A bay leaf

1. Using your fingers and a small sharp knife, pick off all the good leftover meat on a roast chicken. Put all the bones and gristly scraps (everything except the good meat) in a pan with 2 large carrots, 2 medium onions, 4 sticks of celery (all roughly chopped) and a bay leaf.

2. Cover with water, and bring to the boil, then simmer very gently for at least 2 hours, better still 3. Strain through a sieve, and you’ll have a wonderful chicken stock.

3. Now peel 2 more large carrots and slice into thin sticks, finely slice 3 sticks of celery and 2 leeks and finely shred 8-10 large leaves of cabbage or kale. Add these to the hot stock, and simmer away for about 10 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the vegetables are just cooked.

4. Now add any leftover chicken you have and leave to cook for a further five minutes. Serve with homemade dumplings or crusty bread (oh, and a sprinkling of parmesan is rather nice too, if you have any kicking around…)

Enjoy!