Chicken Ham and Vegetable Soup

Serves: to serve 4 - 6

Prep Time: 15 Minutes + waiting

Cook Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

Ready In: 1 hr 45 mins
+ waiting

3½ pints - water

1 - chicken carcass

1 - large onion

2 sticks - celery

1 - bouquet garni

- salt and pepper

3 large - carrots

2 large - potatoes

2 - leeks

1 cup - frozen peas (petits pois by preference)

1 - cooked or uncooked chicken breast

8 oz - lean cooked or uncooked ham (e.g. gammon)

Remove the skin from the chicken, strip off any meat, cut it into small bite-size pieces and set aside. Peel and very roughly chop the onion. Roughly chop the celery and one carrot. If you have any juices remaining from cooking the chicken, make these up to the right volume with water. Otherwise just use water alone and place in a large pan with the chicken carcass and skin, the onion, celery and carrot plus bouquet garni. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
Bring the pan to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for 1 hour. When it has cooled a little, strain this stock through a sieve (strainer), dispose of the solids and retain the liquid. Allow to cool completely and then skim off any surface fat.
Reheat the stock and, as it's heating, peel and dice the remaining carrots and add to the pan. Peel and dice the potatoes, rinse in cold water to remove excess starch and add to the soup. Rinse the leeks, cut off the green leaves at the top and the root at the bottom. Slice the remaining white stem into round slices about ½'" (1cm) thick. Add these to the pan then cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender
Meanwhile, cut the chicken breast and the gammon into small pieces - no more than ½" (1cm) cubes or strips - preferably a little less. Chop any meat that remained on the chicken carcass. When the vegetables are cooked, add the frozen peas, the chicken and the gammon and simmer for two or three minutes (this is enough to cook the meat and leave it tender). Serve immediately for a really tasty and substantial soup.