Do you ever roast a chicken, then the next day you scratch your head wondering what you can do with the leftovers apart from chicken sandwiches? Well here’s something filling and warming to try, that will feed the whole family. It would also work really well with leftover turkey.
I used onion, carrot, courgette/zucchini and peas in my soup, but you could easily put in other vegetables (it’s actually a great way to use up those last few vegetables that you’re not sure what to do with at the end of the week). And remember, taking a little bit more time to chop the vegetables into smaller pieces, will shorten the cooking time.
If serving to a baby, don’t season after pureeing. You can either serve them just the pureed vegetable soup, or add some chicken and peas to their portion and puree again.
Nicholas likes searching for the chicken and peas in this soup, and I’ll often add some cooked pasta just to his for him to discover. Adding pasta is also a way to make the soup last for a couple of meals.
If you have a toddler who’s fussy about eating vegetables, puree the vegetables they’re less keen on and keep the ones they do like whole. Or you can puree all of it to hide lots of vegetables!
LEFTOVER CHICKEN SOUP
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 20-25 mins
Serves 4 adults
Freezable
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, roughly diced
2 large carrots, chopped
1 large courgette/zucchini, chopped
1 tbsp dried sage
1 litre chicken stock
200g leftover chicken, skin removed and diced
150g frozen peas
salt and pepper
Heat oil in a large pot over a med heat. Add the onions and cook for about 5 mins until they’re starting to soften.
Add the carrots, courgette, sage and stock. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to low and cover. Simmer for 10-15 mins until the carrots are cooked.
Remove from the heat and puree the soup until smooth. Season to taste.
Put the soup back on the heat, and add the chicken and peas. Simmer for 5 mins and serve.
Variations:
- add some cooked pasta to make the soup more filling and to go further
- use leftover turkey instead of chicken
- use other vegetables such as potato, leek, butternut squash, frozen corn, etc.
thegingerbreadmum 