Cooler weather means soup time and Sunday roasts. Why not make the most out of your roast and make and bone broth and delicious warming soup?

An organic, free-range chicken is expensive but worth the money if you make sure you use the whole chicken, including the bones.

Bone broth is wonderfully nutrient-dense as the long, slow cooking of the bones allows all the nutrients within the bones including calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. Bone broth also provides gelatin, which may break down into collagen in the body which is helpful for tissue repair. Bone broth is also rich in amino acids (building blocks for proteins) including glutamine which may help support the intestinal barrier, so can be very supportive for increased intestinal permeability (aka ‘leaky gut’)

Bone broth is easy to make. You can use fresh bones from the butchers or just make use of the chicken bones leftover from your Sunday roast. It is best to cook for between 4-12 hours so if you want to make a big batch in one go just pop the chicken bones each time you have a roast in the freezer until you have 2 or 3 carcasses. Or if you have a slow cooker then you can let it cook overnight.

Basic Chicken Bone Broth Recipe

Ingredients

1 large onion
2 carrots
2 sticks of celery
3 bay leaves
2 sprigs of thyme
8 whole peppercorns
a large pinch of salt
1 large chicken carcass
2 litres of water, or enough to cover
1 leek & 3 cloves of garlic (optional extras if you have and want more flavour)

Method

Wash the veg well but leave the skin/peel on as this adds flavour
Roughly chop the veg and add to a large casserole or slow cooker with the herbs, salt and pepper
Break apart the carcass a bit and add to the pan with the water
Cover and bring to the boil, then let simmer on the lowest heat for at least 4 hours but the longer the better
When it is ready, strain the broth through a sieve. You can use straight away, keep in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze for later

Enjoy roast chicken for Sunday lunch and use the leftovers in soup and the carcass to make bone broth

Once you have your bone broth you can drink it as is or use as a stock for delicious soups, risottos, stews. Making several meals out of your roast chicken is a cost-effective way to eat high-welfare meat. Chicken provides you with complete protein, nutrients including vitamin B3, selenium, magnesium and choline. Here is a family favourite recipe for leek and potato soup using chicken bone broth and leftover roast chicken. Including chicken in a soup like leek and potato, helps ensure the soup keeps you fuller for longer, due to the protein-rich chicken meat.

Chicken, Leek and Potato Soup

Ingredients

drizzle of olive oil
1 large onion
2 leeks
2 sticks of celery
3-4 carrots
3-4 potatoes
3 cloves of garlic
2 bay leaves
sprig of thyme
8 peppercorns
1/2 tsp salt
1.5 litres chicken bone broth
leftover roast chicken, about 200-300g

Method

Scrub the vegetables, peel the onion and garlic and roughly chop all the veg. I leave the skin on the vegetables as lots of the goodness is just beneath the skin and it provides more fibre
In a large pan, heat some olive oil and add the chopped onion, leek, celery and garlic and gently sauté with the lid on about 10 minutes, stirring regularly
When the veg is soft, add the chopped potatoes, bone broth, herbs, peppercorns and salt. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
Remove the bay leaves and transfer to a blender and whiz until smooth.
Return to the pan and add the chicken to heat through.
Serve with a few thyme leaves for garnish and a little drizzle of olive oil
Enjoy!