• 1 chicken (about 1.2 kg/2 lb12 oz), suitable for boiling
• 2 carrots, peeled and halved
• 2 leafy celery stalks
• small handful of parsley stalks
• 7 black peppercorns
• 3 small french shallots, peeled but left whole
• 1 garlic clove, peeled but left whole

Put the chicken into your largest pot and add the carrots, celery, parsley, peppercorns, shallots and garlic. Add 2.5 litres(87 fl oz/10 cups) of water and 1 teaspoon of salt and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and put the lid on the pan, leaving just a little gap for the steam to escape. Simmer for 1½ hours, skimming now and then.

Turn off the heat and leave the broth until it’s cool enough to handle. Carefully take out the chicken. Strain what’s left, keeping the broth to use for pasta or dumplings. You decide if you’d like to save the carrots to eat later on.