Leftover Chicken & Vegetable Soup

3/17/2018

We are still holding strong with soup season and I am wondering if spring really is on it's way. So, soup it is for now. If you just happen to be roasting a chicken this weekend, a great way to use the leftovers is by making a great soup. The chicken brings all the flavour and it's low on ingredients which makes it easy to make. Check it out and see what it's all about.

I don't have many recipes on the site using leftover ingredients. Quite frankly, there aren't usually leftovers. Or when there are, they are usually eaten so fast that I don't have time to repurpose them into something fresh and new. I'm not complaining because it's a good thing when the people eat your food. Right?

However, every now and again there are scraps of something left that I can work work. I have a recipe for Grown Up Turkey Wraps on the blog that uses left over turkey. I mean, it isn't easy to finish off a Thanksgiving turkey. We do give it out best shot, but usually succumb to failure and fall into a food induced coma. The almighty turkey wins, always.

The tiny chicken on the other hand doesn't have much of a chance. Still, I generally always use the left over chicken to make stock. Sometimes, as rare as it may be, there is enough left over to make a soup. This time around, it was the ladder I made a soup.

If you have never used a left over chicken carcass to make soup, you got to give it a try. First of all, I'm not fond of the term carcass, but I can't think of another word to fill the blank. It feels almost primal and a little predatory. But that's the word I got and I really don't think there are any substitutes. So carcass it is for now.

Anyway, you can make this soup with just the bare bones or 1/2 a chicken. Whatever is left really. Obviously, the more meat you have left, the better the chicken soup will be. The less chicken you have, it will result in more of a broth. I have made it both ways over the years, and they are both successful. This time around I would say there was about a quarter of the meat left on the chicken.

This soups uses so few ingredients because it really doesn't need much when you have the chicken for the flavour. It is generally most stuff you will probably have on hand in your kitchen so special shopping shouldn't be required.

I'm just going to take a tiny minute to talk about removing the meat from the chicken after it has simmered for the the time stated below in the recipe. You will know it is ready when the meat literally falls off the bones. It will do this and it makes life so easy. I usually transfer the chicken carcass to a colander and have a bowl set aside to put the good meat into. Basically just pick your way through it salvaging all the best meat you can. Then you discard the bones, skin and other less savoury bits shall we say....ha! If you have never done it, it may seem tricky. Trust me when I say it's as easy as 1..2..3..

Depending on how much chicken you have will depend on how much stock you will need. I used a full litre in this soup, but it may vary a little bit from soup to soup. Recipes are a mere guidance after all. Right? So stick with the litre and add a little more if you find your soup too chunky.

Apart from that, there isn't a whole lot more to say about the soup. It's easy, it's hearty, it's tasty and it goes down well in a good storm!

Happy cooking and have a great Saturday everyone!

Leftover Chicken & Vegetable Soup

Serves 4 / Prep time: 15 minutes / Cook time: 1 hour

Ingredients

1 leftover chicken carcass
4 Cups/1 litre chicken broth (more if needed)
3 Bay leaves
1 Parsnip, finely diced
2 Carrots, finely diced
½ Leek, finely diced
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Put the chicken in a large pot with the chicken broth, bay leaves, parsnip, carrots and leek. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to low, cover and leave to simmer for about 45-50 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the stock and transfer it to a cutting board or put it in a colander. Remove all the good meat from the chicken, and discard the rest.

Shred the chicken into small pieces and add it back to the pot. Season with salt and pepper. Bring back to a simmer for about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and serve.

Click the downloadable link below to print recipe!