Chicken and roast parsnip soup

This hearty dish is two meals in one: a Sunday roast and a steaming hot soup. By making your own stock you get the most from your poultry. The stock can also be frozen, so you have it on tap for the next time you need an easy no-fuss chicken soup.

• serves

  6

• prep

  55 minutes

• cook

  3:45 hours

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1.8 kg whole chicken
• 1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra, to drizzle
• 1 kg parsnips, peeled, quartered lengthwise, cored
• 1 large leek, washed, chopped, trimmings reserved
• 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 sprigs thyme
• ¼ cup roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley, stalks reserved
• ½ tsp black peppercorns
• Turkish pide, to serve

Instructions

Preheat oven to 220°C. Rinse the chicken including the cavity with cold water, then pat dry with paper towel. Place, breast-side up, in a roasting pan, drizzle with oil and rub all over with salt and pepper. Place parsnips on an oven tray, drizzle with oil and season.

Place chicken on top shelf of oven and parsnips on lower shelf and roast both for 20 minutes, turning them halfway, or until chicken is light golden. Reduce oven to 180°C and roast chicken and parsnips for a further 15 minutes or until the parsnips are golden brown. Remove parsnips from oven and roast chicken for a further 20 minutes or until the juices of chicken run clear when the thickest part of a thigh is pierced with a skewer.

When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the meat, discarding the skin, and refrigerate until needed. Place bones, leek trimmings, celery, bay leaves, thyme, parsley stalks and peppercorns in a large saucepan. Cover with 4 L water and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low–medium and simmer for 2 hours. Strain and discard solids.

Roughly chop parsnips and set aside. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and cook leek for 8 minutes or until very soft but not browned. Add chicken stock and parsnips, bring to the boil and season. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, shred or finely chop chicken, then add to soup with chopped parsley. Simmer for a further 5 minutes to warm through. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve soup with Turkish pide.

Photography by Alan Benson.

As seen in Feast magazine, Sept 2011, Issue 1. 

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.