Vocal Voices

This is a stick to the ribs thick soup for those cold and clear days.

Take two sticks of celery, one carrot, one onion and a few mushrooms. Chop all the veg into decent sized chunks and fry them gently in a little oil till the onion goes translucent. Add 600ml/1pint of chicken stock to the pan, bring to the boil and simmer for ten minutes or so. During that time chop about a cupful of chicken meat into small cubes and fry in a little oil in a hot pan till the edges are going brown and crispy. Set aside. Remove the stock and veg from the heat and blitz to form a smooth but thick soup base. Add the chicken and any juices to the soup base and bring back to a light simmer then add a tin of mixed beans and continue to simmer till the beans are heated through - two or three minutes.

That sounds delicious

Sounds particularly yummy - and good for a little bit of leftover chicken

How do you know it's a country chicken? Have you checked its passport? Did it have an accent? Was it wearing wellies? Is there any soup left over? When can I come round?

Seriously though, very nice. Mrs O made a large cauldron of cabbage soup on Monday and we're still dining on it. We did put some smokey bacon lardons in it (£1 a pack from Asda). I love cabbage soup, and of course its a dieting staple, but it doesn't half make me windy ...

That sounds lovely - perfect for left over chicken and for doing in the slow cooker.

Debih, I don't think it's a slow cooker job, the beans are already cooked and would burst given too much cooking.