Serves 4, Costs 20p
Okay, it may not exactly be a delicious meal in itself, but with a basic chicken stock you can make so much more. With just the addition of a few vegetables and some red lentils for example you’ve got a hearty and satisfying chicken soup – and for next to no money. So the next time you roast chicken, collect those bones and get some (nearly) free, delicious food.
Ingredients
- Chicken carcass
- Bay leaf
- Carrot
- Onion
- 2 litres (4 pints) water
Method
- Chop the onion and carrot in half, and put everything in to a large pan. Then bring it to the boil.
- Turn down the heat and leave it to simmer for at least an hour. Turn off the heat and let it sit until it’s cool – the flavours will keep improving.
- Strain the resulting liquid through a sieve. Bin the bones and veg.
You can keep your stock in the fridge for a few days, or if you want, you could return it to the pan and boil gently until it reduces by half. Pour into ice trays and freeze and you’ve made your own stock melts!