White soup

This chicken soup recipe – as featured in Pride and Prejudice – is rich in flavour but beautiful in its understatement.

This chicken soup recipe – as featured in Pride and Prejudice – is rich in flavour but beautiful in its understatement.

Ingredients

900g veal or beef bones (from butcher’s shops), chopped
1 small free-range chicken
400g piece British free-range unsmoked bacon, cut into chunks
6 black peppercorns
Bouquet garni (or a bundle of fresh herbs such as thyme, parsley, bay leaf, marjoram)
Pared zest ½ lemon
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
3 mace blades

To thicken:

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Put the bones, whole chicken and bacon chunks into a large pan, then add the peppercorns, herbs, lemon zest, onion, celery and mace. Cover with water, then bring to a boil, skimming off any scum. reduce the heat, then simmer very gently for 2½ hours.
Remove the chicken and set aside, then strain the stock through a fine sieve (discard flavourings) and cool (overnight if possible).
When cool, skim off the fat, then return about 700ml stock to a clean pan and heat gently.

Pound the almonds in a pestle and mortar with 2 tbsp cold water to make a coarse paste (or pulse in a small food processor). Put the cream in a pan and add the almonds, bread, lemon zest and powdered mace. Bring to the boil, simmer for 1-2 minutes, then add to the pan of stock. Simmer for 2 minutes, then strain again, pressing with the back of a spoon. Shred the meat from the reserved chicken, then add to the soup to warm through. Serve simply, with a little bread if you like.

Nutrition: per serving

You’ll have twice as much stock as you need – and it’s really good stuff, so strain the leftovers and freeze in sealed containers for up to 3 months. Heat from frozen for soups, stews and more white soup.
Make the soup, then keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat thoroughly to serve.Or freeze the finished soup for up to 3 months. Defrost thoroughly and reheat to serve.