Soups and stews are a mainstay for fall and winter meals. Easy on the digestion, warming, hydrating and oh-so-nourishing, soups and stews are also a great way to get a quick and healthy mid-week supper made with the help of leftover veggies, beans, lentils, meats and grains you’ve got in the fridge.
Great soup begins with great stock. Tonight, I’m making homemade chicken stock with a bone-in, skin-on quarter chicken (including the neck). Bones are key for great stock, as they add alkalinizing, easy-to-absorb minerals and collagen, a protein that supports the immune system as well as younger-looking skin – and makes for a richer tasting broth.
Here’s how I make my super-easy homemade chicken stock:
1. Rub raw chicken with 2-3 tsp sea salt.
2. In large soup pot, heat 2 tbsp grapeseed oil over medium-high heat.
3. Place chicken in pot and sear for 30-60 seconds per side.
4. Add 2 peeled, whole onions* to the pot and cover chicken with filtered water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 1-2 hours.
*Additional veggies, herbs and spices are optional: try simmering in some black peppercorns, garlic, sliced ginger root, marjoram, or a few immune-boosting shiitake mushrooms.
You can use the stock and cooked chicken to make tonight’s soup right away, and freeze what’s left. This stock will cool to that gel-like consistency that tells you you’ve got a good, nourishing broth. Freeze the leftover stock into ice cube trays then add a few to your next soup or stew recipe for enhanced nutrition and flavour.