Roast Chicken and Parsnip Soup

Another fantastic gift I received for my birthday was a subscription to the magazine SBS Feast. There are certainly some recipes that are a feast for the eyes.

This is the first recipe I have made, a roast chicken and parsnip soup, by Matthew Evans, the gourmet farmer. 

This is definitely not a weeknight meal although you could always reheat some for a quick dinner.

The chicken and parsnips are firstly roasted. The meat is then taken off the chicken and the bones put in a big pot with leek trimmings, celery, parsley stalks, herbs and pepper. This is covered with water and simmered for a couple of hours.

The soup is then prepared by softening leeks before adding the chopped parsnips and stock. Once this has simmered away for about half an hour add the chicken and some parsley. 

It needed plenty of salt to bring out the flavours but otherwise was really quite tasty. Yes I am slowly being converted to a soup fan.

The recipe suggested you serve the soup with turkish bread so I made my own wholemeal version. It wasn't quite like the shops but it was still yummy.

I bought this butter at the farmers markets on the weekend.

I had to include a photo of the Chocolate Cinnamon Popcorn I made, it was so delicious - an adult popcorn (although my daughter loved it). You can find the recipe at Gourmand Recipes.