Description
A nutritious, tasty and economical soup - this is one of the dishes I learned to cook in my mum's kitchen. I also often use a chicken carcass, once I've cut all the meat off for another dish.
Ingredients
4 whole chicken thighs
2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 carrot, peeled and cubed
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
1 shallot, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 bay leaves, fresh or dried
½ tsp fennel seeds
100g/4oz very small pasta shapes - stars (stellini) and melon seeds (seme di melone) are my favourites
handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
1 tbsp freshly grated parmesan
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. Skin the chicken thighs and cut off the strip of fat that runs down the side. Place the thighs in a large pan with the tomatoes, carrot, celery, shallot, garlic, bay leaves and fennel seeds.
2. Cover with 1.75 litres (three pints) of water. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for one hour.
3. Lift out the chicken thighs and pass the soup mixture through a string wire sieve into a clean pan, pushing as much cooked vegetable through as possible.
4. Using two forks, shred the chicken meat off the bones and add to the broth. Check the seasoning, adding salt and pepper, and bring to a gentle simmer. At this point you can cool the broth for reheating and serving later.
5. Cook the pasta in a pan of boiling salted water for five minutes or so, following the packet insructions. Drain, then divide between four bowls.
6. Ladle over the hot broth, top each serving with chopped parsley, a pinch of parmesan and plenty of freshly ground black pepper, and serve.
