Creamy Chicken Soup

Name: Creamy Chicken Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 1 h 40 min
Yield: Serves to serve 4
Ingredients: remains of cooked chicken plus whole carcass; 1 large large onion; 2 sticks celery; 1 large carrot; 1 leek; 1 bouquet garni; 2 teaspoons salt; 1 chicken stock cube; 3 oz butter; 2 level tablespoon plain flour (all purpose flour); 3 eggs; ½ pint double cream (heavy cream)

Ready in 1 hr 40 mins

Recipe by Graham

Creamy Chicken Soup answers the question of how to make good use of a whole chicken when only part of it has been used during a meal. This recipe, therefore, assumes that you have cooked a chicken according to our Easy Cook Chicken recipe (or other cooking means that doesn't change the basic taste of the chicken) and that you are left with about ½ of the meat on the carcass (plus some of the cooking juices from the pan).

Whilst the cooking time seems long, most of this does not need any careful attention since it is merely making a stock from the chicken remnants.

Preparation Time

10 Minutes

Cooking Time

1 Hour 30 Minutes

Ingredients for Creamy Chicken Soup

If you are not familiar with any ingredients, please check our International Cooking Terms page.

Currently displaying quantities in US Imperial Measurements

To serve 4:

remains of cooked chicken plus whole carcass
1 large large onion
2 sticks celery
1 large carrot
1 leek
1 bouquet garni
2 teaspoons salt
1 chicken stock cube
3 oz butter
2 level tablespoon plain flour (all purpose flour)
3 eggs
½ pint double cream (heavy cream)

How to Cook Creamy Chicken Soup

Remove the skin from the cooked chicken, strip off any meat, cut it into small bite-size pieces and set aside. Peel and chop the onion. Roughly chop the celery, carrot and leek. If you have any juices remaining from cooking the chicken, make these up to 4 pints (2.25 litres) with water. Otherwise just use water alone and add to a large pan with all the vegetables.
Add the bouquet garni, crumble in a chicken stock cube and add salt to taste. Add the skin and bones from the chicken carcass and bring the pan to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for 1½ hours. Allow to cool a little, then strain this stock through a sieve (strainer), dispose of the solids and retain the liquid. Allow the liquid to cool completely and then skim off any surface fat.
Melt the butter in a pan and stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute without browning. Gradually stir in the stock, bring to the boil and then simmer for two minutes. Add the cooked chicken pieces that you put aside and continue to gently simmer for a few minutes until the chicken pieces are warmed through.
Separate the egg yolks from the whites and blend the yolks with the cream. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the cream and egg mixture and serve immediately.

GRAHAM'S HOT TIP:
To separate an egg yoke from the egg white, crack the egg sharply against the edge of a dish or bowl. Carefully prise open the shell using your thumbs, retaining the yoke in one half of the shell. Most of the egg white will overflow so be sure to do this over a bowl if you want to retain the egg white. Tip the yolk from one half shell to the other half shell and the remainder of the white will remain behind in the first half shell. The yoke can then be carefully placed into a separate bowl.