Chicken & Tortellini Broth

• 500g chicken pieces- on the bone, cut into large chunks including thighs, wings, breast, and drumsticks.
• Marinade of your choosing
• 300g chicken & bacon tortellini
• 1 1/2 lit chicken stock- fridge cold
• 45ml vegetable/canola oil
• 2 carrots- med diced
• 1 onion-med diced
• 2 celery sticks- med diced
• 10 cherry tomatoes- cut in half
• 2 tsp chopped parsley
• seasoning

Step 1

I cooked this soup on a cold day in January, which in New Zealand is supposed to be summer, but I also needed to use up some leftover chicken from a recent BBQ (where 7 of us brought chicken). 

This broth is so easy to do, quick at an hour for a soup, and hearty.  

Here are a couple of pointers that will make or break this dish.

Always use cold stock (for broths) and boil the pasta first for clarity. Don’t boil the chicken but simmer, allow the chicken to rest after cooking, and season regularly. That’s it!!

Step 2

You can use any marinade you like, but it has to be a dry rub type, not moist with juice. Ensure you season the chicken with salt at the same time. I suggest seasoning 500g of chicken with 1 1/2 tsp salt. 

Place a large pot over high heat, add vegetable or canola oil, and allow it to heat for 1 minute.

Add carrots and onions, stir, and season for 1 minute. Cover with a lid and cook for 3 minutes.

Step 3

After 3 minutes of steam frying, remove the lid and add the celery. I steam fry to avoid adding more oil while also speeding up cooking. 

Stir and season with salt and pepper. 

Cover with a lid and steam fry for 3 minutes. Do this on medium to high heat. 

Step 4

Once you’ve steam-fried the vegetables, add the bone-in chicken.

Stir and gently fry on a high heat for 3 mins.

Add cold stock and, over medium-high heat, bring to a very gentle steam, then simmer for 5-10 mins. Lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, season lightly, cover with a lid, and cook for 30-35mins.