Your homemade soup will be so much more flavoursome if you can get into the habit of making it with homemade stock. It gives you a great excuse to enjoy a roast chicken on a Sunday – or any other day of the week – and once you know the drill, it’s easy!

Ingredients

1 whole chicken carcass
A selection of vegetables – onions, leeks & carrots work well
A couple cloves of garlic
Mixed herbs, again whatever you have to hand fresh or from your spice rack – parsley, coriander, bay leafs, put them all in
A pinch of salt & pepper

Method

1. Once you have enjoyed your delicious roast chicken (you can check out my roast chicken recipe here), put the whole chicken carcass into a large stock pot.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and cover with about 2 litres of water.
3. Bring to the boil, then put the lid on and simmer on a very low heat for about 1 hour.
4. Allow to cool and strain all the liquid through a sieve, either into another pot if using straight away, or into a tupperware for the fridge/freezer.

Stuck for soup recipes? Take a look at these:

Roasted Red Pepper, Tomato & Carrot Soup
Pea Soup with Crispy Bacon
Sweet Potato, Red Pepper & Coconut Soup
Leftover Salad Soup (yes, believe it or not, it’s quite delicious!)

Top Tip: This stock is also a delicious base for any pho dish – recipes coming soon!