Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 brown onion, diced
- 2 celery stalks, trimmed and diced
- 2 skinless chicken breasts fillets (500 g/1 lb 2 oz)
- 150 g (5 1/2 oz/3/4 cup) white quinoa, rinsed and drained
- 3 corn cobs
- 1/3 cup fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley, roughly chopped
Method
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, add the onion and celery and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, or until softened. Add 2 litres (70 fl oz/8 cups) water and the chicken, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and bring to the boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to a slow simmer and cook for a further 2 minutes, or until the chicken is just cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside to cool slightly.
2. Stir the quinoa into the poaching liquid and gently boil, covered, for 15 minutes, or until the quinoa starts to soften. Meanwhile, shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
3. Cut the kernels from the corn cobs. To do this, place each cob upright on a chopping board and cut down the sides of the cob to remove the kernels. Halving the cobs crossways beforehand makes them easier to handle.
4. Add the corn kernels to the soup and simmer for a further 5 minutes, or until the quinoa is tender but the corn is only just tender.
5. Return the chicken to the soup and simmer for 1 minute, or until heated through. Check the seasoning and stir in the parsley.
