“A terrific soup that is bursting with flavours. It’s delicious as it is, but it’s worth including the homemade pesto – it only takes a few minutes to make from scratch and adds a freshness that takes this soup to a whole new level. We love cannellini beans best, but any white beans (such as pillowy butter beans) will work so feel free to substitute with your favourite.”

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 large onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 carrots
• 2 celery sticks
• 3 sprigs of thyme
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 chicken breasts (skin on)
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 × 400g tins white beans
• 1 litre chicken stock
• 10g parsley
• 1 lemon
• Salt and pepper

For the walnut pesto: 

• 40g parmesan or pecorino cheese
• 1-2 garlic cloves
• 60g baby spinach
• Juice of ½ lemon – you can use the lemon from the soup
• ½ tsp salt (to taste)
• 150ml olive oil
• 60g walnuts

Method

Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Peel and cut the carrots into 2cm dice. Cut the celery into 2cm dice. Strip the thyme leaves from the stalks and discard the stalks.

Set a large saucepan or shallow casserole pan over a medium heat. Once hot, add the olive oil. Place the chicken breasts in the pan, skin side down. Cook until golden brown. Then turn the breasts over to cook the other side until golden. Remove the chicken and set aside for later.

Place the pan you used for the chicken, with the oil and pan juices still inside, over a low heat. Add the onion, thyme, bay leaf, and a good pinch of salt. Cook until translucent, stirring regularly, for about 10-15 minutes. Drain the tins of beans, rinse, and set aside.

Add the garlic, carrot, and celery to the pan and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the stock. Bring to a gentle simmer. Then add the chicken and poach for 15 minutes or until tender. Remove the chicken breasts from the soup. Strip off the skin and shred the meat with a fork.

Add the shredded chicken back to the pan together with the drained beans. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer gently for 8-10 minutes.

Finely chop the parsley. Grate the zest of the lemon into the pan and add the juice of half the lemon.

For the pesto, finely grate the cheese. Peel one of the garlic cloves. Add both to a blender with the spinach, juice of half a lemon, and a pinch of salt. Then add the olive oil and blend. Finally, add the walnuts and pulse until roughly chopped to give you a coarse texture. Taste, add more garlic if needed, and season to taste.

Once the soup is ready, add the chopped parsley and serve in bowls with a spoonful of pesto.

Pesto tip: store the pesto with a drizzle of oil over the top. It will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

“When team member Cathy’s daughter asked for some noodle soup recipes to take back to university, there was only one answer: this fabulous, hearty Thai version. The aromatic curry paste combined with the creamy sweetness of the coconut milk creates a rich, warming soup that is as tasty as it is filling. It’s proved a real hit with a houseful of students up in Leeds.”

Prep time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 3 carrots
• 1 red pepper
• 3 large skinless, boneless,
• chicken breasts
• 150g rice noodles
• ½ lime
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 tbsp red curry paste
• 1 litre chicken stock
• 500ml coconut milk
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 20g fresh coriander
• ¾ tsp chilli flakes
• Salt and pepper

Method

Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Peel and cut the carrots into 1cm dice. Halve the red pepper, remove the stem and seeds, and cut into 1cm dice. Cut the chicken breasts into 1cm dice. Break up the rice noodles. Juice the lime.

Set a large saucepan or shallow casserole pan on a medium heat. Add the oil, followed by the onion, carrot and red pepper and sauté for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add the chicken and mix well. Add the garlic and curry paste. Cook until the chicken is just cooked, around 3-4 minutes. Mix in the stock and coconut milk. Season with a little salt and pepper. Bring the soup to the boil and let it cook for a further 5 minutes.

Finely chop the coriander and set aside for garnish. Add the broken noodles to the soup and bring back to the boil.

Reduce heat to low and simmer for around 3 minutes. Test for the balance of flavours and add chilli flakes and lime juice to taste. Season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve the soup warm. Finish with the chopped coriander.

“Our founders come from a long line of chicken soup-makers and are firm believers in the health benefits it brings. It’s known informally as Jewish penicillin, and during lockdown, Karen made doorstep deliveries to friends and neighbours who had caught Covid. There’s no definitive version of this soup as the recipe tends to be passed down through the generations; every family thinks theirs is the best, but this is how we like it. Best served at least 24 hours after cooking, this soup just gets better and better.”

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 3 ½ hours minimum
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken or 1 chicken carcass + pack of wings
• 2 onions
• 2 celery sticks
• 2 leeks
• 3-4 large carrots
• 1 small swede
• 4 stock cubes (2 beef, 2 chicken)
• 2 litres hot water
• Salt and pepper

Method

Place the chicken or carcass and wings into a large saucepan. Fill the pan with enough water to cover the chicken. Bring to the boil and skim off any scum that rises to the top of the pan.

Meanwhile, halve the onions. Keep the skins on for colour and extra flavour. Chop the celery and leeks into large chunks. Peel and cut the carrots into large chunks. Peel and cut the swede into smaller chunks. Add all the vegetables to the pan with the chicken, crumble in the stock cubes and add the 2 litres of hot water (or dissolve the cubes in the hot water first then add).

Top up with more stock or water to ensure all the ingredients are submerged. Cover with a lid, bring back to the boil, then turn down to a very low simmer and cook covered for a minimum of 3 hours (keep on a low simmer to make sure it doesn’t boil away). Alternatively, you can put the soup in the oven at 150°C/Gas Mark 2 and cook for 6-7 hours to get an even deeper flavour.

When done, remove from the heat and add salt and pepper to taste. Sieve the soup into another container (to remove the chicken and vegetables and to assist cooling).

You can keep the soup as a clear broth or you may prefer to add some of the chicken back in (off the bone and shredded) and any vegetables you like eg the cooked carrots, sliced.

When cool enough, refrigerate or freeze in suitable containers or freezer bags. Once chilled, there is often a layer of fat at the top which you can simply scrape away before reheating until piping hot.