During the cooler months my body craves comfort food – not the processed stuff that you get in supermarkets, but homemade soups, casseroles and curries. Yum!

For the soups and casseroles, a flavoursome, quality stock is in order. I’ve always been lazy about making stock. I made it for the first time only a couple of months ago. (tsk tsk!)

What inspired me to make my stock was a recipe for poached chicken – which I’d never made before either – in Jude Blereau’s Coming home to eat. Basic principle: you poach the chicken in water, and then use the same water to make the stock – hooray for efficient and economical cooking!

Recipe

Inspired by Jude

 Ingredients

• 1 whole organic chicken (I used a 1.6 kg chicken)
• 4 celery sticks, roughly chopped (I used the leaves too)
• 3 carrots, scrubbed (not peeled), roughly chopped
• 1 brown onion (I left the peel on), quartered
• 3-4 garlic cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• feel free to add any other herbs and vegetables you like

Method

Put all the ingredients into a large pot. Add enough water so that the chicken is just covered. Bring to a boil then simmer on low heat for about 45-60 minutes, or until the meat is cooked. The cooking time will vary depending on the size of the bird. (My 1.6 kg chicken took about 60 minutes.) 

Keep the stove on low heat, and carefully remove the poached chicken and place it into a large bowl or dish. Remove the breasts, legs and wings (leave the skin on so the meat stays moist) and place the carcass back into the pot. Make sure that the meat is covered with enough juices so that it remains moist. You could always add some from the pot, if there’s not enough. Then cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and allow the meat to cool.

Meanwhile, simmer the stock for another 1–2 hours, and then strain into a large bowl to cool. Discard the solids. (I usually pull off any meat that’s on the carcass and give it to my 4-legged munchkins. 🙂 ) Once the stock has cooled, store in containers and freeze. 

You can use the poached chicken straight away, or store in the fridge for later use. I like to use it in sandwiches, hearty soups and shredded in a light broth with soba noodles.