Friday night was a particularly cold night for the beginning of autumn, a reminder that the season of beautiful amber colours has descended and so begins the fall of leaves and the turn of temperature.

I was so inspired by the pinterest picture of Chicken Pot Pie Soup from How Sweet Eats  that I decided to try my hand at my own version…..and I am blissfully addicted.

What a beautiful, tummy-filling, warm, hearty rich soup this is….and the puff pastry…ah…the puff pastry croutons simply sent me over the edge. The perfect compliment to a scrumptious bowl of steaming soup

So here’s what I did:

*Remove ready bought puff pastry from freezer so that it can be used to make the puff pastry croutons*

To a soup pot add:

2-3tblsp Olive oil (a good splash)

handful of chopped spring onion

Braise slightly

then add:

500g chicken fillet – washed and diced

1 cup of frozen mixed veg

1/3 cup frozen corn

1 punnet of sliced mushrooms

*optional – 1-2 potatoes peeled and diced

*optional – chopped broccoli and cauliflower

and you can add any other veggies of your choice

now add:

3 tblsp flour

salt & pepper

1 tsp lemon pepper

1/2 tsp chicken spice

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or more to taste)

1 tsp crushed garlic

1 tsp powdered ginger – or 1/2tsp freshly chopped ginger

1 slit green chilli

Braise all so that the flour browns a little.

In the meantime, boil a kettle of water.

*Now is a good time to turn your oven on to 180°C. Start your puff pastry croutons about now*

Once boiled add a little to the pot so that the flour doesn’t burn too much and let the chicken and veggies cook for a few minutes.

After about 10 minutes, add 1 litre of boiling water and let the pot simmer.

Boil more water and keep ready.

Check your flavours and add anything extra if necessary e.g. salt/pepper/chilli

Add one chicken stock cube (Knorr is SANHA approved)

Add another litre of water, let it simmer.

Once all veggies and chicken etc. are cooked, add 500ml fresh cream and heat through.

*optional – add a handful of chopped coriander before serving

For the puff pastry croutons:

Roll out one sheet of puff pastry and cut into round or any other shape that you feel for.

Line a baking sheet with non-stick mat such as Silkomart teflon sheet or Silpat

Lay your shapes onto the sheet and brush with beaten egg.

Bake til golden brown and serve atop your soup.