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Hearty Chicken and Leek Soup

Introduction & method

When it's cold and miserable outside, a warm steaming bowl of thick soup is just what you need to cheer you up. This hearty chicken and leek soup is a perfect winter warmer.

 Hearty Chicken and Leek Soup Recipe

Prep the Stock


The key to a good soup is a really good stock. You can make your own chicken stock, or buy a decent jellied stock: bouillon cubes won't really cut it for this.

Prep the Vegetables


We're going to use potato to thicken the soup, so start by peeling the potatoes and cutting them into 1cm (half inch) dice. Put them in a pot with the stock, bring them to the boil and cook until tender. Then use a potato masher or fork to squidge them into the stock. Meanwhile, top and tail and peel the onion and carrot, wash and trim the celery. Chop them all very finely.

Make the Soup


We begin by sweating the onion, carrot and celery in butter. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed pan on very low heat. Stir in the base veggies to get them all coated, put a lid on the pan and let the veggies cook for 10 minutes. Check them now and again to make sure they're not catching. After 10 minutes, add the base veggies to the stock. Peel the parsnips and cut them into 1cm (half inch) dice. If you're using any other winter veg such as swede/turnip/rutabaga, dice those too. Put them into the soup. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and add those. Turn down the heat, add the milk, half a teaspoon of salt and pepper and the herbs, shredded. Put a lid on the pot and let it simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste for seasoning and serve with crusty bread.


The video above is from the Keef Cooks YouTube channel. Click here to see the video recipe of Hearty Chicken and Leek Soup on YouTube.

 
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Ingredients & Info



 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts
 500 ml chicken stock
 500 ml milk
 1 medium onion
 1 medium carrot
 2 sticks celery
 2 medium parsnips
 2 medium potatoes
 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
 small handful flatleaf parsley
  salt and pepper to taste

UNITS:
Metric
US Customary/Imperial

Serves 4 -6
Prep time: 10 minutes.
Cooking time: 40 minutes.
Total time: 50 minutes.