Poulet Noir Stock and Soup

Last Saturday at the Ginger Pig stall in Borough Market, we bought a gorgeous black leg chicken or "Poulet Noir". The average supermarket chicken has a life of around 39 days whereas the Poulet Noir is reared for a minimum of 81, giving it a deeper, almost gamier flavour. 

I lost my nerve a bit when I got it back to the kitchen, so Leo had to remove the intimadating head and large talons, which I reserved for stock. I also added some woody herbs, an onion, carrot and a few black peppercorns along with the leftover bones from the roast chicken. 

I boiled it slowly for a few hours, until I had around 100ml of concentrated stock. This cooled into a rich jelly which formed the basis of my spring chicken soup.

As the stock is so rich in flavour, I wanted that to be the main focus of the soup. I sautéed an onion, carrot and a large leek until soft and then added the stock with around half a litre of water. I then stirred in some spinach right before serving.

I was really impressed with the Poulet Noir and will be reluctant to go back to headless chickens... The head and talons made the stock extra tasty and the meat was beautifully moist and gamey.

5:2 Fast Day Recipes: "Faux" Pho - Prawn Noodle Soup

The wonderful thing about herbs and spices is that they are virtually calorie free - therefore liberal usage is encouraged. I wanted to created a dish like the pho I always order at my local Vietnamese restaurant, so my faux pho was born. I know the basic ingredients but have next to no idea just what makes the broth so delicious, so I experimented and was pretty pleased with the results.

To my delight, my faux pho was a heady, aromatic dream to eat - more feast than fast. I substituted the beef fillet I would usually opt for, for prawns - lower in calories but still meaty and delicious. For obvious reasons the noodles had to be rationed, but once I upped the quantity of bean sprouts this was barely noticeable.

Best of all though, this dish is both quick to prepare and to cook. One thing - this is one of those rare meals that does not get better with age... If left too long, the herbs and spices begin to lose their potency. For that reason it is best to eat this straight away which, given its deliciousness, shouldn't be too difficult.

Ingredients (Serves 2) 

150g fresh, raw prawns. 120 calories

150g dried egg noodles. 210 calories

200g beansprouts. 62 calories

100g babycorns, sliced lengthways. 24 calories

80g mangetout. 31 calories. 

1 red chili, thinly sliced. 7 calories

3 sping onions, chopped. 24 calories 

Inch sized piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated. 19 calories

1 garlic clove, finely chopped. 6 calories

2 lemongrass stalks, tough outer leaves removed. 10 calories 

Juice of one lime. 10 calories

Small bunch of basil, roughly chopped. 10 calories

500 ml chicken stock. 32 calories

Total calories: 565

Calories per serving: 283

Method

Heat the chicken stock in a large, heavy bottomed pan. Add the chilli, garlic, lemongrass and grated ginger. Allow to simmer for a few minutes, until the flavours have begun to penetrate the stock - this will form the base of the soup. 

Add the noodles and simmer until they have softened. This will take around 5- 10 minutes. Then add the sping onions, beansprouts, babycorns, mangetout and prawns. When the prawns have turned pink, they are cooked through.

Place in a warm bowl and squeeze over the lime juice. Scatter the chopped basil over the top and serve immediately. 

One last thing - the delicate but floral flavour of green tea and/or jasmine tea complement this dish really well and have the added bonus of being low in calories, so give them a try... Enjoy!