Soups & stews
Chicken stock
Chicken stock is a cooking staple – useful for everything from stews to cooking grains. The homemade kind is the best there is – so never throw away the carcass after you've roasted a chicken. If you don't want to use this immediately it freezes well: boil it down to an intense brown stock so that it takes up less space in the freezer.
Ingredients
- 1 chicken carcass
- 1 onion, halved
- 1 leek, chopped
- 1 carrot
- 1-2 celery stalks
- a few parsley stalks or bouquet garni (mixed herb sprigs and a bay leaf, tied with string)
- a few black peppercorns
- salt
Method
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Step 1
Put the chicken carcass in a large saucepan or stock pot with the veg. Add the parsley stalks or bouquet garni, a few black peppercorns and a good pinch of salt.
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Step 2
Cover with water, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer slowly for 1½ to 2 hours to make a stock, skimming off any fat every now and then.
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Step 3
Strain the stock and leave to cool. Freeze what you don't want to use in the next day or two. Use to make soups, stews and in risottos.