Canja de galinha (chicken broth soup)

Following up from the previous recipe (Portuguese roast chicken), I was left with the breast bones, the neck and the giblets of the chicken I had cut up. The bones still had plenty of meat in them and it seemed quite a waste to throw them away. 

I had two options of recipe: chicken stock or chicken broth. I decided to go for the later and make something mums usually make when we are sick and I hadn't had for decades: chicken broth soup, canja de galinha in Portuguese.

The end result had the taste I remembered but a much fainter taste and much less fat. I realised that there is a reason why this is made with a whole chicken: the skin is the key ingredient for the flavour of the soup. I regretted having thrown away the skin from the chicken breasts, which was too ripped for roasting but would have made a difference for the broth.

Serves: 6 persons.

Ingredients:

• leftovers of cutting up a chicken (and as much skin as you can get your hands on!)
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled but whole
• 1 big or 2 small bay leaves
• 1 carrot, peeled but whole
• bunch of mint, leaves whole
• 130g small shaped pasta (I used elbow macaroni but alphabet and pastina will also work)
• salt to taste

Method:

1. Add the chicken, onion, garlic cloves, bay leaves and carrot to the pressure cooker.
   
2. Add water to cover the chicken.
   
3. Cook in the pressure cooker for 20 min. A normal pressure cooker may take longer than the Instant Pot.
   

   
4. Drain the cooking liquid and add it to a pan. Reserve the chicken and the carrot. Discard the remaining.
5. Debone the chicken and cut the carrot into slices.
   
   
   
   
6. Bring the cooking liquid in the pan to the boil, add the pasta and cook it until al dente. 
   
7. Add the chicken, carrot, mint and salt to taste. Let it cook for 2 min just to warm up the ingredients.
   
8. Serve hot.