Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken
• jointed
• 2 onions
• peeled and left whole
• 5 carrots
• roughly chopped
• 2 sweet potatoes
• roughly chopped
• 4 celery stalks
• trimmed
• roughly chopped
• 1 leek
• trimmed
• roughly chopped
• ½ swede
• roughly chopped
• 3 chicken stock cubes
• 1 beef stock cube
• 1 bay leaf
• 300g/10½oz vermicelli
• 1 x 230g tin butter beans
• salt and white pepper

Directions

• Place the chicken pieces
• all of the chopped vegetables
• the stock cubes and the bay leaf into a large
• heavy-based saucepan. Fill the pan with water and bring to the boil. Season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Reduce the heat until the mixture is simmering gently. Partly cover with a lid and simmer for 3½ hours
• stirring occasionally and skimming the fat from the surface of the liquid once every hour using a slotted spoon.
• Strain the soup and discard everything but the strained liquid. Cover
• set aside until cool
• then chill in the fridge overnight.
• The following day
• the soup will have turned to jelly. Warm the soup to melt the jelly and skim the fat from the surface once more.
• Meanwhile
• cook the vermicelli in a pan of salted
• boiling water according to the packet instructions. Drain well.
• Cook the butterbeans in a separate pan of boiling water for 3-4 minutes
• or until tender. Drain well.
• To serve
• divide the noodles and butterbeans equally among 6-8 serving bowls. Ladle over the warm chicken broth.