Chicken Soup with Asparagus and Leek

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (pre‑cooked)
• 1 bundle of soup vegetables
• Salt
• black pepper (freshly ground)
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tsp peppercorns
• 1 stalk leek
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 400 g green asparagus

Instructions

1. 1.

   Wash the chicken thoroughly. Wash and roughly chop the soup vegetables, place them with the chicken in a pot, and pour enough water to cover the chicken.

2. 2.

   Add salt, pepper, bay leaves, and peppercorns, bring the soup to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1–1½ hours, skimming off any foam that forms.

3. 3.

   After cooking, remove the chicken from the broth. Line a strainer with cheesecloth, strain the broth through it, measure out 1 l, and reheat in a new pot. Slice the leek lengthwise, rinse, clean, and cut into thin rings. Wash the bell pepper, quarter it, seed it, and dice into 0.5 cm cubes.

4. 4.

   Peel the lower third of the asparagus, trim the woody ends, halve the stalks lengthwise, and cook them with the leek rings and pepper cubes in the chicken broth for 6–8 minutes.

5. 5.

   Break up the cooked chicken, separate the meat from the bones, cut into strips, and serve the soup in deep bowls with the chicken pieces on top.