Chicken SOUP

CHICKEN SOUP BASICS

CHICKEN

Use thigh cutlets (which contain the bone) or thigh fillets (boneless). Meat on the bone provides more flavour, but if you don’t want to contend with removing bones, opt for fillets. Buy both from large supermarkets or your butcher. You can also use a whole chicken, just skim the surface as it cooks to remove the fatty bits.

VEGETABLES

Carrots, celery, onion and garlic provide a delicious vegetable base. You can also try other produce like kumara, celeriac, capsicum and cabbage.

HERBS AND SPICES

Herbs can be fresh or dried. Fresh will give optimum flavour, but dried are as convenient as reaching into your pantry. Keep in mind, dried will have a subtler taste. Use whole black peppercorns to season the soup as it cooks.

LIQUID

Water is the base of each soup creation. Other liquids include wine, premade liquid stock and canned tomatoes. When using liquid stocks, choose salt-reduced if possible, as the longer the broth simmers and reduces, the more intense the saltiness. Salt-reduced options still have lots of flavour and you can always season