For the next five days, we are showcasing different recipes from The Royal Touch, a cookbook by Carolyn Robb, former personal chef to TRH The Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince William and Prince Harry. We are running a contest to win a copy of the cookbook, so keep an eye on our contest page!
Ingredients
2 large shallots
18 baby carrots
150 g or 5½ oz waxy potatoes
200 g or 7 oz butternut
2 sticks of celery
1 leek
30 ml or 2 Tbsp mild olive oil
30 g or 1 oz butter (2 Tbsp)
A few sprigs of fresh thyme
150 ml or ½ cup white wine
600 ml or 2 cups chicken stock
2 chicken breasts (approx 150 g or 5 oz each)
100 g or 3½ oz farro (½ cup)
12 small florets of broccoli
Preparation
- Finely dice the shallots. Top and tail the baby carrots and wash them, but you don’t need to peel them. Dice the potatoes and butternut into small 1 cm (½ inch) cubes. Wash, de-string and slice the celery and chop the leek into thin rings and rinse well
- Heat the olive oil and butter in a large heavy-based saucepan. Sauté all the vegetables over a high heat for several minutes, stirring well to coat everything in butter. Add the sprigs of thyme
- Cover and cook over a medium heat for about 10 minutes to soften the vegetables. Add the white wine, stock and chicken breasts and cook slowly with the lid on for a further 20 minutes. Remove the chicken and leave it to cool
- Add the farro and simmer for 12 – 15 minutes, until it is tender. While this is cooking, dice the chicken
- Return the chicken to the pan, add the broccoli and cook everything together slowly for a further 10 minutes (I add the broccoli right at the end so that it maintains a little ‘crunch’ and keeps its bright green colour)
- Serve into warmed soup bowls, accompanied by freshly baked Soda Bread (see recipe on page 220) for a wholesome winter’s feast
Tip: If you can make this the day before you need it, the flavours will develop and it will be even more delicious
