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Grandma’s Old Fashioned Chicken Soup

The reason why I call this “old-fashioned” chicken soup is because nowadays, with the advent of so many tinned, packet and dehydrated versions of soups, taking the time in today’s busy fast paced life to cook an old-fashioned recipe which can take a couple of hours, is not something everyone is willing to do. As usual, and because I also have a full-time job, I cut corners as much as I can without compromising on ingredients and taste.

This version of my grandmother’s chicken soup, is not left to simmer for a couple of hours on the hob (although nothing is stopping you from doing this) as she did, but rather cooked in a pressure cooker where your ingredients will cook in just about an hour.

There are two different ways you can serve up the chicken soup, as I have in this recipe where I cooked a whole chicken, then placed it in the oven for half an hour to crisp up, to serve with some roasted potatoes, shredding just some of the chicken back into the soup, or you can extract whatever chicken pieces you used from the soup and shred this back into the liquid to give it full substance.

Don’t forget though, at the time my granny made this, there were probably lots of mouths to feed, so she would use it like I did, and make a complete meal out of this recipe.

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45 mins plus veg prepping time

Ingredients

1 whole chicken (if you are roasting this after, then add two pieces of chicken thighs as well to have meat to shred into the soup)

2 chopped onions.

Small head of celery, cleaned and chopped.

2 – 3 garlic cloves

3 big or 5 small carrots

1 medium sized courgette

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 ½ teaspoons dried parsley

1 litre chicken stock

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Clean, top and tail and chop all the vegetables, and place these into the pot or pressure cooker if you are using this.

Add the herbs, salt and pepper and chicken (already cleaned both inside and outside) to the pot, and cover this with the chicken stock.

Then seal the lid of your pressure cooker and cook over medium high heat until the steam escaping the pressure valve starts to “whistle”(I’ve no idea what the technical term for this is called, but I’m sure you know what I mean).

Then lower the heat to medium low, and cook away for 30 mins - if you’re going to place the chicken in an oven to crisp - if not then leave for 5 more mins.

If you are doing this on a stock pot the old-fashioned way, then you are going to need to simmer the soup for at least 1 to 1 ½ hours in a sealed pot, adding extra stock as and when needed as the liquid will evaporate.

If you are going to roast the chicken as a second dish, fifteen minutes into your cooking time is the time to clean, peel and chop your potatoes.

Place them onto an oven proof dish, baste them with two tablespoons of oil (I always use olive oil), and sprinkle with some Oregano and rock salt.

Place into a preheated 200-degree oven, for 30 minutes to start off with, then remove and carefully turn potatoes, and return to oven for a final 15 minutes, or until they are roasted outside but still fluffy inside. Keep warm until serving.

Carefully, release the heat from the pressure cooker, allow to stand for at least 5 minutes and then open this up.

With care remove the chicken from the pot, drain, and place the whole chicken in an oven proof dish and into pre-heated oven to crisp up for at least 20 – 30 minutes. This step is the same for the stock pot method.

Crispy chicken after placing for 30 minutes in your pre heated hot oven

Check that there are no bones or skin left in the soup. You only want the vegetables and liquid in your soup at this stage. If your soup is either too clear or just a little cloudy, then my grandmothers tip was to add a couple of tablespoons of milk into the soup, this would give it a creamy colour, and will not impair the flavour.

Shred remaining chicken thighs, and add the meat (only the meat not the skin or bones) back into the soup. Reheat, ladle out and serve.

Take your now crispy chicken out of the oven, and keep warm with your roasted potatoes until you are ready for your second course. Enjoy!

Old Fashioned Chicken Soup