This is a biiig pan of broth, you might wanna cut it down a bit. we made extra to freeze for another day. Not really much to say about it, it’s actually based on an old recipe that my grandad’s mum used to make. Its quite nice although I should’ve put more salt and pepper in, and maybe a bit more chicken stock.
You’ll need:
- 1 Chicken carcass
- A load of water
- 100g Barley
- 500ml Water
- 2-3tbsp Vegetable oil
- 3 Sticks of celery, chopped
- 1 Onion, finely chopped
- A few handfuls frozen (or fresh) chopped leak
- 3 Carrots, diced
- 100g Frozen peas
- 50g Frozen diced swede/turnip
- 4-5tsp Thyme
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1L boiling water + 2-3 chicken stock cubes dissolved in it
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
1. Put the chicken in a semi large pan, fill with water and bring to the boil, let simmer for about 45 minutes. At the same time, put the barley in a smaller pan, add the water, boil for 10 minutes, then turn the heat down and simmer for 50 minutes, topping up with water if necessary.
2. In a big stock pan/soup pan, heat the oil and gently fry with a bit of salt and pepper, add in the frozen veg and gently cook until softened with a bit more salt and pepper.
3. Remove the chicken from the water when its done and tip all the water into the soup pan with the veg, add in the thyme and bay leaves and mix. Remove all the good meat from the chicken and set aside. Tip the water with the stock cubes into the pan and mix again, adding more salt and pepper. You might want to add another stock cube if it doesn’t taste/smell very chickeny.
3. Tip the barley into the soup along with any water, mix well and add the chicken meat, simmer for a bit and serve. Doneee.
If you are looking at freezing any as we did, let it cool completely, and place in a suitable container and put the date on the container. Defrost in the fridge overnight before use.
I would use it within 3 months of freezing.
