The beauty of this recipe is that it gives you a soup to eat now and nourishing stock to use later.
Serves 6
1 organic free-range whole chicken
1 onion, roughly diced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 bay leaves
1 bunch parsley, including stalks
1 bunch kale, washed and roughly chopped
1 fennel bulb, roughly chopped
1 cup roughly chopped sweet potato
8 cups water
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons pepper
Cut the chicken into quarters with kitchen scissors, once down the centre then cut each half through the centre again.
Put all the ingredients in a slow cooker and cook overnight or for 8 hours on low. (See note.)
Remove the chicken from the soup. Carefully remove all the meat and discard the bones. Chop the meat roughly and return it to the soup, bringing it back to a simmer.
Serve the soup in bowls with the chicken and vegetables.
Refrigerate the remaining stock to use throughout the week.
Note: If you do not have a slow cooker, use a large saucepan and leave on a very low simmer, covered, for 5–6 hours.