"I always create a stock with my leftover chicken bones.  When you are buying a quality piece of meat, it is worth using up every last bit of it and this soup, using the Sichuan Spatchcock Chicken from the previous recipe, really hits the spot with the Sichuan flavour giving it another dimension.  Or you can use it with any whole chicken carcass such as the weekend roast. The beauty of this is that you can use up lots of random veg from the fridge. As long as you do the base of olive oil, onion + garlic which gives it body, the rest can be a mix.  The below is what I had to hand."

Ingredients:

Leftover chicken bones from the Sichuan chicken recipe card or any chicken carcass

4 litres of water

Extras:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 white onion, sliced

4 garlic cloves, sliced

1 medium carrot, thinly sliced

1 peeled sweet potato, cut into 2cm pieces

1/2 broccoli, roughly chopped

200g cooked beans of choice (I did borlotti)

100g button mushrooms 

200g leftover roast squash

Toppings:

Parmesan cheese and Nina's Saucy Chilli Sambal (available at Provenance Shops)

Method:

Set a large stock pot to a medium to high heat + add in the chicken bones.  Cover with water, about 4 litres.  Bring to a boil + then down to a simmer for 1 hour. 

While that cooks, start on soup base, set a large frying pan to a medium heat + add 2 tbsp olive oil followed by the sliced onion.  Simmer until caramelised for about 15min adding a little more olive oil if needed.  Then add the garlic + fry for 2mins. 

After 1 hour, sieve the stock.  Remove any leftover bits of chicken from the bones + place to one side.  Add sieved stock back to the stock pot as well as contents of frying pan, chopped carrots + sweet potato. Bring to a boil + then simmer for 8mins.  Then add broccoli + mushrooms + simmer for 2-3mins to cook. Next, pour in beans, roast squash, leftover chicken + check seasoning. 

Serve hot with some grated cheese on top + a spoon of Chilli Sambal.  Store for 3 days in the fridge or freeze.

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