Recipes

What you do

Make the stock:
Melt the butter in a pan, add the chicken wings, and sauté briefly until the rawness changes to white. Add the onion, celery, leek and carrot, stir through and cook gently for 5 minutes. Add in the flavourings, then the wine, followed by the water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for an hour. Strain the stock – Note- you can pick the chicken from the bones and add into the finished soup, or use with some mayo for a nice sandwich filling. The vegetables can be picked out and mashed up, and used as a side dish or popped in the freezer for another soup.

Make the soup:
Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the potatoes and stir through. Place a cartouche (piece of parchment paper with a small hole cut out in the middle for steam to escape) directly on top of the potatoes and cook for about 10 minutes over a low heat. Stir occasionally, checking to see if the potatoes are soft through. Note- you can add a ladle of stock to help prevent sticking.

Remove the cartouche and add the leeks, stir through, replace the paper, and cook for 5 minutes. Next, remove the paper, add the peas, then the stock, bring to the boil and then simmer for 6 minutes. Add the lettuce, cook for 5 minutes then remove from the heat and stir in the mint leaves and lemon juice.

Puree the soup with a hand blender or in batches in a blender (cool first if using a closed blender). Add the lemon juice and taste, adjusting the salt or lemon if needed.

To serve, warm the soup gently, stirring frequently over a medium heat until almost at boiling point. Ladle into warmed bowls, and swirl with crème fraîche, a few peas, a couple of mint leaves, and a handful of croutons.

The soup is best shortly after being made when the colour and flavor are bright, but it will keep, refrigerated, for up to 5 days and freezes well.