chicken stock

It's always useful to have some chicken stock in the house, either in the fridge or the freezer, as it is the base to so many great dishes. If you have the time, energy and ingredients to hand it is well worth making your own stock, there is something quite satisfying about knowing you made every part of a dish. It also means that you can adjust the flavours to your own taste.

I made this chicken stock as I was craving proper homemade chicken soup and stock cubes just don't quite do the job. My sister has posted her version of chicken soup and homemade stock which is well worth a look. Having a Polish heritage it's hardly surprising that chicken soup and soups in general are important to us.

My stock uses chicken wings rather than a whole bird main because they were on offer when I did my shopping. Feel free to substitute the left over carcass from your roast or a whole bird. Using pre-cooked chicken will alter the flavour and colour but still give you a lovely stock. I have found that by using the wings I end up with a proper 'jellied' stock when it's chilled.

Ingredients
2 kg chicken pieces or left over chicken carcass
2 celery sticks, halved
2 carrots, halved
2 onions, halved
bunch of parsley stalks
4 all spice berries
12 black peppercorns
3 bay leaves

1. Put all the ingredients in a large sauce pan, cover with cold water so everything is just submerged.
2. Bring the pan to a gentle boil then reduce the heat to as low as you can and there are occasional bubbles appearing then leave, uncovered for at least a couple of hours. The longer and slower you can cook this the more pronounced the flavours will be. Keep an eye on the water level and add additional hot water if the ingredients are popping above the water. 
3. Once you have finished cooking the stock strain it through a fine sieve and leave to cool, ideally overnight in the fridge. 
4. The next day a layer of fat should have formed on the top, skim this off (you could use this for making traditional dumplings). You can either use the stock as it is now or gently simmer to reduce and intensify the flavours further.  

super easy pumpkin soup

I know I say this about a lot of my recipes but I really do love this one. It is stupendously easy, even after a crazy busy day at work I can bring myself to make this when I get home. It is very low calorie, pretty much fat free if you don't use oil for the roasting or for garnishing and surprisingly creamy for a dairy free soup. Sometimes I will vary this recipe by roasting the pumpkin with a couple of tablespoons of ras al hanout or cumin powder and chilli flakes, or I might add in some whole garlic and rosemary for something completely different a current favourite is to add a little creamed coconut and thai green or red curry paste when I blend it. There really is no end to what you can do with this awesome, simple recipe. The version in these pictures is topped with a dollop of mascarpone cheese and some smoked chilli and garlic oil.

Makes enough for 2-3 people

Ingredients 
1 butternut squash, acorn squash or similar sized amount of pumpkin (approx 1kg unpeeled)
Oil spray (optional)
1 or 2 chicken or vegetable stock cubes (to taste)
c.500ml just boiled water
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 200C fan. Cut the pumpkin/squash in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon.
2. Spray the pumpkin flesh with a little oil if using, season with salt and pepper and any other seasonings you are using. Place the pumpkin cut side down in a roasting pan then put in the oven for around 45 minutes or until cooked. I usually check after 30 minutes. You will know the pumpkin is ready when you can easily insert a knife and the skin is coming away from the flesh.
3. Once the flesh is cooked, boil the kettle then scoop the pumpkin flesh into a food processor.  Add the stock cubes and blitz it all together until you have a smooth puree and everything is combined. While the food processor is still running slowly and carefully add the just boiled water until your soup reaches your desired consistency. I usually use around 500ml.
4. You can either pour this straight into bowls from the food processor or transfer it to a saucepan and keep warm until you are ready to eat. I'm sure this soup would keep well in the fridge for a few days however I've never tried as it always disappears in one sitting in my house.

  

Optional Extras To make your soup more special why not try one or more of these optional extras. There's also nothing wrong with a chunk of crusty, buttered bread with this soup either, in fact you're missing out if you don't!

1. Drizzle with some smoked chilli and garlic oil such as this one from L'ail Olive with which I am currently obsessed. It's glorious.
2. Sage leaves gently fried in a little butter.
3. Crumbled feta/riccotta/cottage cheese with or without some chilli flakes.
4. Crumbled blue cheese.
5. Crispy fried bacon or pancetta.
6. Poached, shredded chicken.
7. Roasted pumpkin seeds.
8. Crispy fried onions.
9. Chunks of roasted squash.
10. Harissa paste swirl.

Let me know if you've got any other ideas for favourite pumpkin soup additions - I'm always looking for new inspirations.