Recipe: chicken noodle soup

This is one of my favourite things to cook at home. It’s healthy, full of flavour and produces a really delicious broth, which I can happily drink by the bowlful. Key to the success of the dish is a good quality chicken and plenty of ginger.

Serves 2 (with chicken leftover for the next day)

For the broth base:

1 free range chicken

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1 red chilli, seeds removed

1 large (5cmx5cm) piece ginger, sliced

roughly chopped shiitake mushroom stalks (see noodle mix)

2 bay leaves

2 sprigs thyme

10 white peppercorns (or 4 black)

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

For the noodle mix:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 small packet part-cooked noodles

1 head broccoli, cut into small florets

10 asparagus spears, cut into 2.5cm pieces

20 shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced (stalks removed and used for the soup base)

2 large handfuls fresh coriander leaves

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200C. Remove the legs and wings from the chicken and set the crown aside for later.

Heat two tablespoons of vegetable oil in a deep saucepan until smoking hot. Add the chicken legs and wings and roast until dark golden brown. Reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic, chilli, ginger, mushroom stalks, bay leaves, thyme and peppercorns.

After a couple of minutes, pour over enough water to cover and add a splash of soy sauce. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a wide frying pan and place over a high heat. Sear the crown of the chicken until golden brown all over, season with a touch of salt and transfer to the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until just cooked through. If the juices from the breast run clear, the chicken is ready.

Meanwhile, strain the stock into a clean pan and place over a low heat. Once the chicken legs and wings are cool enough to handle shred the meat into pieces and set aside.

Just before you are ready to serve, add the broccoli, mushrooms and asparagus to the same pan as the chicken crown and cook for a further three to four minutes. The vegetables will roast and take on the flavour of the chicken juices.

When the chicken breasts are cooked, take the crown out of the oven and leave to rest for a few minutes, before removing the breasts from the bone and cutting into thin slices.

Add the noodles to the boiling broth.

To serve, divide the cooked noodles between two large serving bowls. Add the roasted vegetables and the picked chicken leg and wing meat. Arrange the sliced chicken breast on the top, pour over the hot broth and garnish with the coriander leaves.