Carrot, chicken and barley soup recipe

Use up roast chicken leftovers in this thick, low-calorie, healthy chicken soup. It contains 2 portions of vegetables, is low in saturated fat and only costs 70p per head.

Ingredients

• 1tbsp vegetable oil
• 450g carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 leek, cleaned and sliced
• 1.2lt chicken stock (see recipe method below)
• 75g pearl barley
• 175g cooked chicken, broken into bite sized chunks
• 175g cooked potatoes, chopped
• 100g cooked vegetables such as peas, broccoli or green beans

Method

1. To make chicken stock: Pick all the chicken that you can off a chicken carcass and set aside. Place the chicken bones, and skin in a large pan, cover with about 2.4ltr (4pts) water, add a bay leaf if you like, then bring to the boil.
2. Cover and simmer for 30 mins to extract all the goodness from the bones, then remove the lid and simmer for a further 40 mins or so or until the liquid has reduced by half.
3. Strain to remove the bones then leave to stand for 5 mins Use a spoon to skim off any excess fat which rises to the surface of the stock. It’s now ready to use but can be stored in the fridge for upto 4 days or frozen for upto 6 months.
4. To make the soup: Heat the oil in a large pan, add the carrots and leek, then saute over a medium heat for 4 mins. Add the stock, pearl barley, chicken and potatoes and season well.
5. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 20 - 25 mins or until the pearl barley and carrots are tender. Stir in the cooked vegetables, return to the boil and simmer for 1 min. Stir in the parsley and season to taste. Ladle into bowls and serve.