So, we've saved our leftovers from our chicken roast, or one-pot cook.  Bones, skin, as much meat as possible.  Let's make chicken stock and get creative.

Homemade Chicken Stock

Try and do this every time you have a whole chicken. Or buy a load of chicken wings from the butcher, roast them in oven on about 140 °C for 25-30 minutes and follow the same instructions as below – you’ll get plenty of meat from them if you use your fingers to remove it after the boiling process.

Homemade chicken stock freezes beautifully or you can keep it in the fridge for a few days - just make sure its been brought to the boil and covered; don’t remove the lid. Let it cool and then store in fridge. As long as the stock is gelatinous when chilled, its good to use.

Ingredients

• 1 leftover chicken carcass or a bag of chicken wings
• 6 leeks
• 1 lemon, halved
• 1 chicken stock cube or chicken stock melt
• A few sprigs of fresh thyme
• A bay leaf
• Black peppercorns
• Salt

Method

1. Put your chicken bits in a reasonably sized pan.
2. Dismember the carcass with your hands and add to the pan. Go on, pull it apart – you might enjoy it! Use a potato masher to squash it if your squeamish.
3. Why do this? Because you need to cover the carcass with water but you don’t want too much liquid, so the flatter the bones and bits are in your pan, the more flavourful your stock will be.
4. Cover with water and add a chicken stock cube or chicken stock melt.
5. Add 6 cleaned and roughly sliced leeks (you could also add carrots and onions).
6. Add a lemon halved (the lemon is specific to this soup recipe rather than every chicken stock).
7. Add some fresh thyme and a bay leaf and some black peppercorns.
8. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for at least an hour. After 45 minutes remove the lid to help reduce your stock.
9. Drain through a colander to remove all the bits. This can be splashy – wear your gorgeous, wipe-clean Aabelard apron.
10. Keep the cooked leeks to add to your soup.
11. Once the bones are cool, use your fingers to pull off any remaining meat – there will be more than you think and it will all taste lovely in your soup.

Lemony Chicken Soup with Canellini Beans and Kale

This is one of those soups that, although there may be no medical evidence for it, feels like it’s doing you good.

It’s light yet filling and the homemade stock combined with the gravy from your previous meal is INSANE!

It uses leftovers. Happy Days!

If you don’t like Canellini beans (what’s wrong with you?!), try replacing them with green lentils.

Ingredients

• Fresh chicken stock
• Leftover chicken gravy*
• 1 tin Canellini beans
• I large handful Kale, roughly chopped

Method

1. Add your remaining gravy from your Slow Cooked Chicken with Lemon, Cider and Tarragon* to your stock.
2. Add any chicken meat that you have left over and the leeks from your stock.
3. Add a can of Canellini beans and a generous handful of roughly chopped kale.
4. Heat through.
5. Check the seasoning. Pepper adds to this. Maybe some more lemon?
6. Feeling naughty? Add a dash of cream.
7. Enjoy.