The Lost Art of Homemade Soup

Stock, vegetables and seasoning, that’s all there is to it, but all too often we forget to set a stock pot going after a good meal and save the left over veg.

Ingredients For 6 or more

For the Stock
A chicken carcass or bones from a joint of meat
1 onion, quartered, 2 carrots, halved and 2 sticks celery, roughly chopped
2 bay leaves, 3 sprigs of thyme, bunch of parsley (all optional)
Salt & freshly ground black pepper

For the Soup
200g or more of leftover cooked vegetables – potato, parsnip or squash are good for body; green veg are good for flavour
Lemon juice, maybe a dash of vinegar and a couple of tablespoons of cream

Method
Make the stock from your leftover roast. Put the bones into a large saucepan together with the onion, carrot, celery and herbs. Fill the pan with cold water to cover the contents; season well with salt and pepper. Put a lid on the pan and place over a high heat to bring to the boil. Once simmering, turn down the heat and cook for 1 hour.

Sieve the stock and either chill it in the fridge until needed or make into soup there and then

Use a large saucepan and combine the stock with whatever vegetables you have over.

Bring the mixture to the boil over a moderate heat, then blitz it with a hand blender or transfer to a food processor.

Check the seasoning; add lemon juice or vinegar to taste and a dash of cream if you wish. Serve piping hot with some wholesome brown sourdough.