Chicken soup with dumplings

Even though we cheated with ready made stock and dumplings it was very very nice. And it was a work night so a little cheating is allowed!

Ingredients (for 2 large bowls with a little leftover):

4 chicken legs

approx 800ml good quality chicken stock

1 carrot, diced

1 onion, diced

3 celery sticks, diced

bay leaf and a pinch of dried thyme

salt and pepper

olive oil

dumpling mix or ready made dumplings

• Pre heat oven to 200 degrees
• Roast the chicken legs for approx 30-40 minutes until cooked
• Meanwhile, add the diced carrot, onion and celery with a splash of olive oil to a large saucepan and cook on quite a high heat until softened
• Once the chicken legs are cooked, pull the meat off the bones and chop the chicken into bite sized pieces. Put the meat in a bowl and set aside.
• Add the chicken leg bones to the sauteed veg and then add the stock and herbs. Leave to simmer on a low ish heat for approx 30 minutes.
• Remove the chicken bones and bay leaf from the soup and add in the diced chicken and dumplings. Correct seasoning and leave to simmer with a lid on for 5 minutes.