Recipe: Perfect chicken soup for winter

Let’s face it, winter is well and truly here. But the colder weather isn’t all bad – for starters, it’s the perfect excuse to eat all the delicious chicken soup you want. Fernanda de Paula and Shelley Hepworth have come together to create this ultra-comforting chicken soup recipe to combat those winter chills.

Ingredients

• 2 onions
• 2 carrots
• 2 celery stalks
• 1 lemon, zest cut into large strips
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1×1.8kg whole free-range chicken, cut into 10 pieces
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 300g medium-grain rice
• 200g green beans, chopped
• Chives, snipped to serve

Method

1. Cut one onion, one carrot and the celery stalks into large pieces. Add them to a large stockpot or very large saucepan with 2 litres water, the lemon zest, the peppercorns and a drizzle of olive oil. Season with salt. Bring to the boil over a high heat and cook for 25 minutes. Add the chicken pieces and boil for a further 30 minutes.
2. Remove the chicken pieces and allow them to cool. Remove the meat from the bones. Shred the meat, then set it aside. Return the bones to the pot. Add another 2 litres water and simmer for about 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, finely chop the remaining onion, dice the remaining carrot and roughly chop two of the garlic cloves. Melt the butter with a drizzle of olive oil in a flameproof casserole dish over a medium heat. Sauté the onion for 2 minutes. Stir in the rice and cook for 3 minutes. Add the shredded chicken, the diced carrot and chopped garlic. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.
4. Ladle 2 litres of the chicken stock into the casserole dish, ensuring the rice is fully covered. (Reserve the remaining stock for another recipe.) Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Taste and add salt if needed. Grate the remaining garlic clove into the soup, add the beans and cook for 3 minutes. Serve with a generous drizzle of olive oil and freshly ground black pepper, and garnish with plenty of chives and coriander.

Keep warm this winter and be inspired by this collection of 17 sensational soups, all of which can be consumed while hiding under 17 layers of blankets, doonas and jumpers.