I like to make my own stocks, to ensure I know exactly what’s in them. It’s also a great way to get as much use as possible out of a chicken - we paid $11 for a heavily discounted free range organic chicken and managed to get over 10 meals out of it. To me, not wasting meat and selecting higher welfare meat is one of the ways I can be a bit more respectful of the animals I eat.
You can put pretty much any vegetables into stock - the following is a guideline. I tend to avoid brassicas like cabbage and broccoli as the gasses they release are not exactly conducive to a nice aromatic stock. I focus on using up all the wilting and brown vegetables and all those unused halves in the back of the fridge.
Stock
- One chicken carcass, stripped of meat
- One onion, halved
- Two carrots, halved
- 2 ribs celery, broken up
- A few bay leaves
- Any fresh herbs that you might have
- Generous pinch of salt
Place the chicken carcass, vegetables, herbs, and salt in a large heavy stockpot. Fill with enough cold water to cover. Place the pot on the stove and crank the heat up to max.
Boil for roughly an hour or until the liquid has reduced by at least half and is a rich golden colour. Strain the stock into a bowl and discard the vegetables and carcass.
Soup
- Chicken stock
- 1 cup chicken meat, shredded
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 -2 carrots sliced
- 1 potato diced
- 1 large rib celery sliced
- 1 onion sliced
- 2-3 cm square ginger grated
- One lemon, cut in half
- A splash of soy sauce
- 1/8th cup aborio rice
Clean the stock pot and return to the stove - this time at a medium-low heat. Heat the olive oil and then add the onion and sweat, stirring, until translucent.
Add all other ingredients and simmer on low until the vegetables are soft. Fish the lemon out - all the flavour should be in the soup now without needing to zest for bloody ages. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serves 4 - 6.