Cream of Chicken Soup

Having cooked this, I'm not sure i've ever had a proper cream of chicken soup before - ever! It's not something i've ever cooked before, i never order something like this in a restaurant, and no-one has ever served at a dinner party. The closest i have come is out of a packet, and that's not very close. I can heartily recommend it though - a true classic that is definitely under-represented on today's menus.

- Melt 30g butter and cook 200g finely sliced leeks in it for 10 mins or until soft.

- Put 300ml chicken stock and 300ml milk in a saucepan, add a clove of garlic, 2 bay leaves and a chicken breast and bring to the boil.

- Simmer until the chicken breast is just tender, probably only 5-10 mins after the mixture has boiled, then remove the chicken.

- Add 1 tablespoon of flour to the leeks, cook for a couple mins, then add the milk/stock mixture, keeping on the simmer.

- Finely shred the chicken, add this to the sauce, add a pinch of salt and cook for a further 5 mins.

- Add 15g butter and cook for a further 5 mins, adding extra milk if it starts to look like white sauce.

- Put it in a blender, and sieve into a saucepan.

- Put back on the heat, add an egg yolk and 3 tablespoons double cream.

It sounds quite complicated for a soup, but basically it's cook, blend, sieve. The chicken gives up its flavour really well and makes it taste delicious. It's worth it just to know what a proper cream of chicken soup tastes like.