Chicken Soup - Recipe by Ellie Bouhadana

Ingredients

3 kg mix of raw chicken carcasses, including chicken necks and marrow bones
100 g butter (optional; to keep this recipe kosher, substitute 170mL extra virgin olive oil)
30mL extra virgin olive oil
3 onions, finely diced (set aside the onion skins)
1/2 bunch celery, finely diced (reserve the inner leaves of the celery heart for garnish)
3 carrots, peeled and finely diced
2 Tbs peppercorns
6 bay leaves
1 garlic bulb, sliced in half horizontally
5 L cold water
1/2 bunch flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
1 bunch dill (set aside a few sprigs for garnish)
3 extra carrots, peeled, sliced on an angle into 3-4 pieces
Extra virgin olive oil to serve

Note: The onion skins give the broth a golden hue.

Method

First clean the chicken carcasses just like my Grandmother taught me. Cover the chicken in a generous amount of salt and let stand for 10 minutes. Rinse off the salt and place the chicken in a bowl. Cover with tap water and leave for another 10 minutes, then drain and set aside.

Over a medium heat, melt the butter and warm the extra virgin olive oil in a large stockpot – it needs to be big enough to hold all the ingredients listed, plus 5 litres of water. Put the onions, celery and finely diced carrots in the pot, together with the peppercorns and bay leaves and sweat the vegetables for around 15 minutes.

Once the vegetables have softened and smell fragrant, add the garlic and stir. Season with a small amount of salt.

Put the chicken carcasses in the pot (be mindful about contamination – soap down any surface that comes into contact with the raw chicken) and the onion skins, then cover with cold water.

Bring to the boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Cook for at least 3 hours (between 3 and 5 hours is ideal). Refrain from stirring the soup during that time: the less you stir, the clearer the final broth will be. Skim off any foam that forms on the surface.

After about 2 hours of cooking the soup, season further with salt and put the bunches of parsley and dill in the pot. Gently push them down so they sit just under the surface. Add the extra carrots to the soup at this point and poach them for about 10 minutes, until they are tender. Lift them out and set them aside until you are ready to serve.

When the broth is golden, full of flavour and not watery, strain it and discard the solids. Season the broth further to taste if needed, cool and refrigerate. Once it cools there will be a layer of hard yellow fat on the top of the soup. Lift this fat cap off before serving (you can save it to rub over chicken, to cook potatoes in or to add to ragus for extra flavour).

To serve, fill each bowl with two ladles of soup and a piece of poached carrot. Top with the dill and celery leaves, a small pinch of flaky salt, freshly ground black pepper and a few drops of olive oil.

Credits: This is an edited extract from Ellie’s Table by Ellie Bouhadana, published by Hardie Grant Books. Available in stores nationally from 1 May 2024. Photography by Lucia Bell-Epstein. RRP $55.

Photo Credits: This is an edited extract from Ellie’s Table by Ellie Bouhadana, published by Hardie Grant Books. Available in stores nationally from 1 May 2024. Photography by Lucia Bell-Epstein. RRP $55.