Pete Evans’ chicken and vegetable soup

Sometimes it is tricky to get all of those healthy veggies and a serving into one meal, but this tasty chicken and vegetable soup shared with Starts at 60 by celebrity chef Pete Evans has it all. A family recipe passed on by his mother Joy, this soup is said to please those young and old, and serving six to eight people, it really can feed to whole family. It can also be made ahead of time, simmering away in a slow cooker while you complete any of those odd jobs around the house, or sit back and relax. 

Ingredients

• 5 chicken thighs, bone in or out
•  2 carrots, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1/2 sweet potato, chopped
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 450g pumpkin, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 2L chicken bone broth, vegetable stock or water
• 1 handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
• 2 handfuls of chopped baby spinach leaves
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Place the chicken, carrot, celery, sweet potato, zucchini, onion, pumpkin, spices and the broth, stock or water in a stockpot or slow cooker, bring to a simmer and cook on low for three hours.
2. Carefully remove the chicken from the soup, discard the bones and shred the meat, then set aside. 
3. Using a hand blender, blend the soup until slightly smooth (some chunks of veg are fine), then pop the chicken back in.
4. Mix through the parsley and spinach and season with salt and pepper.