Chicken & Borlotti Bean Minestrone
My whole chicken and stock is on fortnightly rotation in my house. It makes the most nourishing gelatin and mineral rich flavoursome stock, as well as shredded chicken, using the best quality organic chicken I can get my hands on.
The next question is what to actually do with these things once they are made. Most often I find myself using both together in some kind of chunky minestrone-like chicken soup, which I’m aware doesn’t traditionally have chicken meat in it. But what I mean is it’s a chance for me to add in whatever seasonal veg I have, along side a legume (I like to cook mine from scratch) or sometimes pasta (I love the gluten-free mini pasta!).
This particular soup came about due to one of those evenings, and I have repeated it ever since.
Something that makes it stand out is the fennel seeds, which impart a really distinctive, complex, almost smoky flavour to this soup. And something else I do on purpose is just a touch of tomato paste, where I can get that tomato acidity and richness, without overpowering tinned tomatoes – there is a time and a place for these, but in general I find them overpowering in a lot of stew style dishes.
Enjoy this beautiful recipe!
Chicken & Borlotti Bean Minestrone
An ultra nourishing meal with homemade chicken stock, beans, shredded chicken and a touch of fennel flavour.
Serves:
6
Cook time:
30 minutes
INGREDIENTS
- A generous glug of olive oil, about 3-4 tbsp
- ½ onion, finely diced
- 1 leek, thinly sliced
- 2 carrots, peeled and finely diced
- 2 celery stalks, finely diced
- 1½ tbsp tomato paste
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- All of the chicken stock you've made
- All of the cooked chicken you've shredded
- About 2 cups cooked borlotti beans (I like to soak and cook mine from dried beans, but canned works)
- 1/2-1 bunch Tuscan kale, tough stems removed and leaves roughly chopped
- Generous salt, for seasoning throughout
METHOD
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
- Add the onion, leek, carrot and celery with a good pinch of salt. Cook gently for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and sweet.
- Add the garlic and fennel seeds and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Move the veggies to the side in the pot and add the tomato paste so it directly hits the base of the pot. Cook for another minute to caramelise slightly, and the colour seeps into the oil.
- Pour in the chicken stock, then add the shredded chicken, borlotti beans. Bring to a simmer.
- Add in the kale, place the lid on for 5 minutes until the kale is cooked but still green.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt if needed. Remove from the heat and let the soup sit for 10 minutes before serving. The flavours will continue to develop as it rests.
Notes
- This recipe is only made possible once you have made my Whole Chicken and Stock. This soup uses the shredded chicken and stock from it.
- I adore this topped with a pesto or any kind of green sauce made from fresh herbs.
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