The Best Nourishing chicken soup

I’ve always had a soft spot for a good chicken soup. Not the rushed kind, but the kind that simmers away gently and fills the house with that quiet, reassuring smell that everything is going to be okay. This is one I come back to often. It starts with a whole chicken, slowly poached to create a beautiful, clear stock, and turns into something that feels generous and deeply nourishing. The spices are subtle but important, adding warmth without taking over, and the greens bring a freshness that lifts the whole pot. There was a time when this soup was on near constant rotation in our kitchen — made between school runs, late nights and the inevitable rounds of coughs and colds. These days, life looks a little different, but I still find myself reaching for it in much the same way. It’s the kind of soup that doesn’t ask much of you, but gives plenty back. A pot on the stove, a bowl when you need it, and often a little extra for the next day. And if you ask me, that’s exactly the kind of cooking worth holding onto. I strongly encourage you to poach a whole chicken on the weekend. You will then be enjoying dishes like this and many others during the week.

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Course: chicken, Dinner, Lunch, Soup

Cuisine: Australian fusion, Autralian, modern australian

Diet: Gluten Free

Prep Time: 25

Cook Time: 1 45

Servings:

Calories: 583kcal

Author: Nellie Kerrison | Relish Mama

Cost: 30

Equipment

Large heavy-based stock pot or Dutch oven
Fine sieve or strainer
Chopping board
Sharp knife
Wooden spoon
Ladle

Ingredients

For the poached chicken and stock

1 whole chicken free-range
3 carrots peeled and diced
3 sticks of celery diced
1 onion diced
1 garlic clove peeled and halved
1 fresh bay leaf
A few sprigs of fresh thyme
5 black peppercorns
2.5 litres water

For the soup

40 ml olive oil
20 g unsalted butter
1 brown onion diced
2 carrots peeled and diced
3 celery stalks finely sliced on an angle
3 cloves garlic crushed or diced
A few sprigs of fresh thyme
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground fennel
2 litres chicken stock from the stock you have just made
2 cups poached chicken roughly pulled and shredded
½ bunch silverbeet (or Tuscan Kale) washed, spines removed and roughly chopped
Sea salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 lemon juiced

To serve

Fresh parsley leaves roughly chopped
Extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Place the whole chicken in a large pot and cover with water. Add the carrot, celery, onion, garlic, bay leaf, thyme and peppercorns. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Carefully remove the chicken from the pot and set aside to rest. Strain the poaching liquid through a sieve and discard the vegetables and aromatics. Set the stock aside.
Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred the meat into generous pieces and set aside.
Place a large pot on the stove over a low–medium heat and add the olive oil and butter. Cook the onion, carrot and celery for 6–8 minutes, until softened and fragrant.
Add the garlic and fresh thyme and stir for a minute or two, being mindful not to let the garlic burn.
Add the cumin, ginger and fennel and cook for a further 1–2 minutes to release their aroma.
Pour in the chicken stock and increase the heat to medium–high. Bring to the boil and allow it to cook for 10 minutes to deepen the flavour.
Add the shredded chicken and silverbeet or kale and simmer for 5 minutes. Season well with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Remove the thyme sprigs.
Serve with parsley leaves and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Notes

Tips and variations
Adding 100 g of cooked pearl barley to the soup when you add the chicken turns this into a beautiful, nourishing meal in a bowl.

Nutrition