A Guest Blog....

 The recipe below sounded so delicious I belive it deserved a first guest blog. As soon as I make it I shall post a photo but in the meantime here is a picture of a parsnip that has been on my desk for a week...

This is by a lovely and talented lady from London...

'As someone who thought they were an inadequate Jew because they couldn't cook a good chicken soup (and not because they've never been to church, I mean synagogue), I decided I must try harder, and am now keen to share my top chicken soup tips...

1. If you use 2 chicken skeletons the stock always tastes miles better - it can otherwise be a bit disappointingly watery after all that work. I was delighted when I discovered Nigella agreed with me on this one, as she also does on the need to cook green beans till they are floppy, not al dente. Her top tip is keep one skeleton (she calls it a carcass?!) in the freezer till you have another one to add. My top tip is invite lots of people to Sunday lunch and buy two chickens.

2. If you add a chicken stock cube it always tastes much more home made (Kalo organic are the best)

3. I get a bit fed up of tarragon as everyone always think you have to use it with chicken, but also as it tastes like aniseed which I don't actually like. So a twist on your chicken soup is my new 'oriental' themed chicken soup, which I love and will share with you...it's my favourite winter meal.

Stock-making is the same, though add as many veg as poss, and also a bay leaf can be nice.

Then thinly slice (not chop) and fry a load of onions v. slowly till they are lovely and mushy. Add stock and when boiling add some or all of the following:

fried mushrooms
raw sugar snap peas (at the end so they get hot but not soggy)
chicken bits left over from skeleton OR freshly cooked chicken breast (maybe in a ridged pan so it's nice and stripey and sliced in that smart diagonal way)
noodles (I like glass noodles in this)
Thai fish sauce (strange but true, makes it taste well oriental)
spirng onions also cut on the bias
and most importantly of all, TONS of chopped coriander at the end – if you love coriander as much as I do which is a lot.

Love your blog by the way. Maybe that's because I like cooking and talking and cycling too!

Px'