Donna Hay's Chicken Soup

This is a Donna Hay recipe I've wanted to try for ages from her book A Cook's Guide . Her chicken soup. The recipe is so simple but I was a tad nervous, I've never made a chicken soup from scratch before. It really was very simple and one that will definitely feature again for dinner in my house.

What you will need for the stock:
1.5kg chicken
3 Litres water (you may need more or less depending on the size of your saucepan, the chicken needs to be completely covered so if you need more or less water that's OK)
4 Bay Leaves
1 teaspoon Black Peppercorns
1 Carrot, peeled and chopped
2 Celery stalks, chopped
1 Onion, chopped
2 Garlic cloves, chopped
For the soup:

1 Carrot, peeled and chopped
2 Celery stalks, chopped
1 Cup Risoni
Salt and Pepper
Parsley, to serve

Make sure the chicken is cleaned of all it's insides (I bought a free range Lilydale chicken from the supermarket and it was clean). Put all the stock ingredients into a large saucepan and bring to the boil.

Cook, covered, for about 1 hour, or until the chicken is cooked (the water will reduce during this time).

Remove the chicken (I used large tongs) and set side to cool.

Strain the stock and discard the vegetables. Return the stock to the pan. You can cook up until this point and then reheat when you need to. I cooked the stock during the day and did the last part at night when we were ready to eat.

Add the carrot, celery, chicken, risoni, salt and pepper and cook for 10-15 minutes.

Serve with crusty bread roll, or one day, like me, with semolina dumplings.

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