Quick Make Chunky Chicken and Vegetable Soup

Homemade chicken and vegetable soup

Soup has to be one of the world's most popular lunches but most often it will either be prepared in advance and reheated, or taken from a carton or a can. While many soups are complex and time consuming to make from scratch, this soup can not only be made from scratch in less than an hour and a half, most of that time is hands-off cooking, leaving you free to attend to other things while your tasty lunch simmers away on the stove.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Ready in: 1 hour 15 minutes
Serves: 2

Ingredients
 

Carrot and potatoes for chicken soup

2 large chicken thighs
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
Salt
1 large carrot
4 medium baby new potatoes
1 cup frozen peas

Instructions

Poaching chicken thighs

Put the chicken thighs in to a medium sized pot along with the bay leaves and peppercorns. Season with salt and pour in enough cold water to ensure the thighs are comfortably covered. Put the pot on to a high heat and bring to a gentle to moderate simmer for 30 minutes.

Strained chicken stock

Lift the chicken thighs from the water with a slotted spoon to a holding plate. Cover and leave to cool enough that they can be comfortably handled.

Suspend a kitchen paper lined sieve over a large bowl and carefully ladle the hot stock in to it to strain. You may need to change the kitchen paper once or twice as it becomes clogged with fatty molecules.
 

Simmering soup vegetables

Return the stock to the pot and wash the carrot and potatoes. Peel to one inch chunks and add to the stock, bringing it back to a simmer for 20 minutes. Add the peas and continue to simmer for another couple of minutes.

Chicken thigh meat plucked from bones

Peel the skin from the chicken thighs and pluck the meat from the bones in small bite sized chunks. Return the meat to the soup, simmer for a final couple of minutes to reheat the chicken, taste and adjust the seasoning as required and ladle in to two serving dishes.

Chicken thigh meat is returned to soup to heat through

Bacon and Vegetables Mini Spanish Tortilla

Bacon and vegetables mini Spanish Tortilla

It has been a number of years since a variety of circumstances caused me to stop posting to this blog. It has actually taken the horrors of coronavirus and the resultant Covid-19 to make me realise that more people than ever at this terrible time in history will be looking for ideas as to what they can have for lunch while stuck at home in the face of an uncertain future. Today, therefore, I provide the first suggestion for a while of what will hopefully be many on an ongoing, regular basis, for what you may wish to consider having for lunch.

A Spanish tortilla is normally a thick, almost cake like affair, made principally with eggs, potato and onion. This is a smaller version designed to serve only one person but could easily be beefed up to serve two or more in the form of wedges, just as with a pizza.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Ready in: 15 minutes
Serves: 1 person (or 2 with accompaniments)

Ingredients

2 British style back bacon rashers (or 4 strips American/streaky bacon)
Vegetable or sunflower oil
1 small courgette/zucchini
1 small white onion
1/2 teaspoon pimenton/smoked paprika
Salt and pepper
3 large eggs

Back bacon rashers

Instructions

Roughly chop the bacon. Pour two or three tablespoons of oil in to a medium to large non-stick frying pan and bring it up to a medium to high heat. Add the chopped bacon and saute until just cooked. Remove briefly to a small bowl or plate.

Frying chopped bacon

Wash, top, tail and dice the courgette/zucchini to around half inch chunks. Peel, half and slice the onion. Add to the still hot pan with the pimenton/smoked paprika and some salt and pepper. Saute for a few minutes until the onion strands are just softened.

Sauteing seasoned and spiced vegetables

Return the bacon to the pan and saute again briefly to ensure it is re-heated all the way through. Use your spatula to ensure the contents of the pan are evenly dispersed across the surface.

Bacon is returned to pan with vegetables

Put your kitchen grill/broiler on to preheat to its highest setting. Beat the eggs in a small bowl until just combined before pouring evenly over the bacon and vegetables. Reduce the heat under the pan slightly and cook for two or three minutes until you can see the egg is set almost but not quite all the way to the top.

Egg is poured over arranged bacon and vegetables

Place the pan under your grill/broiler for a minute or two until the eggs are completely set. Slide the tortilla carefully on to a plate and serve immediately.

Bacon and vegetables tortilla is ready to serve