Got leftovers from your Sunday roast? Whack them in this soup

Turn your roast leftovers into a nourishing dinner the next day, says Ella Walker

‘Soul food at its best’

We always cook a roast on a Sunday and if there is some leftover veg, I will make this soup with it,” says Rochelle Humes.

“It is a one-pot and has all the comforting flavours of a traditional roast. This is soul food at its best and is delicious dished up with chunky bread on the side.”

Leftover roast chicken and veggie soup

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

3 sprigs thyme, leaves picked

1.4L/2¼ pints chicken stock

200g/7oz frozen peas

300g/10oz leftover greens, roughly chopped (broccoli, cabbage, spinach and brussels sprouts all work well)

200g/7oz leftover roast chicken, shredded

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Crusty buttered bread, for dunking

Method:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrots and thyme, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes until the carrots are soft and onions are golden.

2. Add the chicken stock to the pan and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and leave to cook for 15 minutes.

‘At Mama’s Table’ is filled with tips for making meals work for adults as well as tiny babies (Vermilion)

3. Add the peas, leftover green veg and shredded, cooked chicken to the pan and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then leave to cook for five minutes.

4. If you like a chunky soup, ladle half of the soup into a blender and blend until smooth, then return to the pan with the unblended soup. If you like your soup smoother, blend all of the soup in batches to your preferred consistency.

5. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with buttered crusty bread alongside for dunking.

For first-stage weaning: Substitute the stock for water or low-sodium chicken stock. Remove and blend some of the soup before you add the seasoning. You could also blend any leftover cooked veggies from the roast to make a purée.

For older children: Older children will enjoy this as it is, just leave any seasoning until the end and pass it round to the adults only so that they can season their own food.

Recipe extracted from ‘At Mama’s Table’ by Rochelle Humes (published by Vermilion, £20; food photography by Yuki Sugiura, photos of Rochelle by Karis Kennedy), available now.