A really good chicken soup recipe please?

[currieaddict]

I like soup at work for lunch but really not keen on tinned stuff so want to make my own. It has to be blendable other than the chicken - I hate lumpy soup!

I'd also love a good lentil soup recipe if you have one. Mine always just tastes a bit bland.

Put the stewing chicken in a large, heavy soup pot and cover with water, and the sea salt and pepper. Add 2 onions roughly chopped, celery and carrots. Cover and bring to the boil. Remove any froth with a large, wet metal spoon. Add chicken stock, cover and reduce to a very light simmer. Leave for 3 hours at least.

Remove the stewing chicken and reserve for another use. Strain the soup into a large bowl and put in fridge overnight. The next day you will be able to remove the layer of congealed fat before heating the hob for about 15 mins.

Not what you asked for so ignore me if you like. I Made the most amazing butternut squash, sweet potato and choritzo soup last weekend.
Roast 1 medium butternut squash and 2 medium sweet potatoes.
Fry off 2 medium onions and about 75g choritzo finely diced.
Add roasted veg flesh and veg stock to onionand chorizo then blend

Bloody lovely

just I make something similar, but with chilli. So nice.

Can't help on chicken soup but I always make Delia's lentil and bacon soup, and it is definitely not bland. It's delicious! The recipe will come up if you google. I don't blend as I don't mind the 'bits' but I have blended for the DC and it's still as tasty.

Lentil:

Set onions and smoked bacon. Add lentils and stock. Maybe throw in a parmasan rind if you have one in the freezer. If being poncetastic, serve with little cubes of crispy fried bread and pancetta on top.

Or my veggie standby: sweat onions and/or leeks with garlic. Add lentils, veggie stock or water and a really good amount of tomato purée. Cook then blitz, then add a good slug of milk -about a teacup full - to make it creamy.

Just be aware, if you're like me and tend to leave the soup sitting in a pan, the milk will make it go off much sooner than other types of soup, so either portion up and freeze, or only add the milk to the amount you plan to eat that day, iyswim.

And season it! Lentils need a lot of salt at the end of cooking.