Big Batch Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

Stock:

Tops, heart, and tail of a celery

4 carrots- roughly chopped

2 onions

Whole garlic head

1/2 bunch of thyme

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp whole cloves

1 tsp star anise

1 tbsp peppercorns

1 whole chicken (sub for 4 chicken breast or 6 thighs)

Soup:

6 stalks of celery

3 carrots

4 medium potatoes

1 can white beans

Chopped chicken from making broth

1 bulb garlic

1 thumb ginger

1/2 cup cream

2 heaped tbs corn flour (mixed with 1/4 cup water to a slurry)

1/2 bunch thyme

1/2 bunch fresh oregano

Salt & pepper to taste

Method:

Add all broth ingrients into a large pan and just cover with water. Bring to a simmer and let go for an hour. Pull chicken and shred. Drain stock through a sieve into a larger bowl underneath.

Finely chop soup ingredients (celery, carrot, potato, ginger and garlic)

If making soup immediately, add stock to a large clean pan. Stir in vegetables, herbs, ginger, garlic, salt and pepper and bring to a simmer till vegetables are tender. Stir in beans, cooked chicken, cream and corn flour slurry. Bring back to heat till thickened then serve.

Notes:

- Of course dried herbs can be used in replacement of fresh.

-Packet stock works just as well but if you’ve got the enthusiasm and time, from scratch is so worthwhile.

-If using breast or thigh just incorporate when cooking soup ingredients then shred and add back in.

-If making broth from scratch you can allow it to cool then seperate the fat by cooling overnight then scraping some of it off.

-lazy tip, when using fresh herbs add them whole then pull the stems out later. Saves pulling all the leaves off.

This freezes exceptionally well or will store in the fridge for 3-5 days.