Chicken Soup with Fennel and Potatoes
Recipe for a clear soup with chicken, fennel and potatoes.
Ingredients
- 1 large fresh chicken
- (or 600 g chicken breast – see intro)
- 10 peppercorns
- 2-3 chicken stock cubes
- Vegetable trimmings, e.g. spring onions, carrots, celery
- Salt
- Water
For the soup
- 150 g bacon, diced
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 fennel bulb
- 2-3 tbsp fresh thyme
- 1 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, ground
- 400 g peeled potatoes, diced
- 2 leeks, sliced into rings (save the green tops)
- 1,8 l stock from the chicken
- 100 g fresh spinach
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- A little olive oil (optional)
Method
- Place the chicken in a large pot and cover it with water. Bring to the boil and skim the surface well.
- Add the peppercorns, stock cubes, a few mixed vegetables and salt – turn down the heat and let the chicken simmer gently, covered, over a low heat for about 45 minutes, depending on its size.*Use vegetable trimmings or whatever you have to hand – they are simply there to add more flavour to the stock.
- If you are using chicken breast for this recipe, you can simply poach it in a little stock – it needs about 10 minutes, depending on size. In that case I recommend making a fresh batch of stock for the soup.
- Lift out the chicken and strain the stock to remove the vegetables, peppercorns and so on. Measure out the amount of stock given in the ingredient list. Let the chicken rest while you prepare the soup – then pick the meat from the chicken and cut or shred it into smaller pieces.
- Fry the bacon in a large pot, with a splash of oil if needed, until crisp and golden.
- Meanwhile, cut the fennel into quarters and slice it thinly.
- Lift out the bacon with a slotted spoon and set it aside on a plate.
- In the same pot, fry the onion until translucent. Then add the garlic, fennel, ground fennel seeds and thyme and let it all cook for about 5 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Add the potatoes, leeks and stock and let the soup simmer gently, covered, until the potatoes are almost tender - about 15 minutes.
- Finally, stir in the chicken, bacon, leek tops and spinach - and let the soup simmer for a further 4-5 minutes.
- Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper and serve the soup with a little fresh thyme on top and, if you like, a drizzle of good olive oil.