- 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
- 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.