Recipes: 5 hearty soups

During the cold winter months, nothing beats a steaming bowl of flavourful soup. These hearty recipes are loaded with healthy vegetables and will be perfectly soothing for lunch or a light dinner. Simply add a few crackers or a slice of crusty bread and voila!


Chicken noodle soup
Chicken noodle soup is the perfect pick-me-up for any day of the week. Filled with hearty vegetables, warm broth and tender chicken, this is the perfect winter soup.

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts

• 2 bay leaves

• 2 shallots, finely diced

• 2 garlic cloves, finely diced

• 1 carrot, finely diced

• 2 scallions, finely sliced

• 2 cups of chicken stock

• 2 handfuls of egg noodles

• 1 small handful of fresh spinach

• 1 egg, beaten

• 2 tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving

• Salt and freshly ground pepper

• Extra virgin olive oil

Directions
1 Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan, and add the 2 bay leaves. Add the chicken.

2 In a separate saucepan on medium low heat, add a good drizzle of olive oil. Add the shallots, garlic and carrots. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until softened. Add the scallions and chicken stock. Bring the chicken stock to a boil and add the noodles. Cook according to package instructions.

3 Once the chicken is poached, remove from the water, and shred using a fork (discard the bay leaves). Season with salt and pepper and add to the chicken broth (about 2 minutes before the noodles are cooked). Add the spinach, the beaten egg and stir until the egg is cooked (about 1 minute). Add the Parmesan.

4 Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve with crusty bread, a drizzle of olive oil and a little extra Parmesan.

Serves 4.