Peter Gordon shares top tips and recipes for surviving lockdown

Whanganui-born world-famous chef Peter Gordon offers tips and recipes for getting through four weeks of lockdown. Photo / Supplied

Internationally renowned chef Peter Gordon continues his series of recommended recipes for people isolating in his hometown, Whanganui.

Gordon has just moved back to Auckland after 31 years of living in London.

He will now spend the next few weeks in lockdown along with most of Whanganui and the rest of New Zealand.

The Chronicle asked Gordon to share a recipe or two that may be suitable for someone who may not have cooked before as well as those with more experience.

On Saturday, he shared his Roast Chook and Veggies recipe and today's soup recipe is based on leftovers of roast vegetables and chicken drumsticks.

Asked what people should be stocking their cupboards with at the moment, Gordon said cans are a must in the pantry.

"Having a good selection of canned foods - chickpeas, fish, sweetcorn, coconut milk, tomato paste, puree, dried pulses and grains like lentils, rice, dried beans will give plenty of meals bases.

"Frozen vegetables [in normal times I'd not have them but they're good for soups and stews], pasta and soy sauce, Thai fish sauce, and miso which both give a delicious savouriness to dishes which helps the home cook. Kumara is in season and so good for you, and potatoes - you can never have too many."

Chicken Vegetable Soup

This will take less than two hours to make – most of it is simply simmering the soup.

Ingredients

The left-overs from Roast Chook and Veggies
1 onion, peeled and sliced
150g mushrooms, sliced (any mushroom)
2 teaspoons oil or butter
½ cup rice (any rice at all - pudding, risotto, brown, basmati)
1 can chickpeas
3 tablespoons soy sauce/fish sauce or 2 tablespoons miso paste

Method

Remove all the flesh from the chicken drumsticks and cut into chunks, reserve.

Tip the rice into a medium bowl and stir in 3 cups water. Give a good stir, then drain the water, and soak again with 3 cups water and leave to one side.

In a large saucepan, slowly cook the chicken bones, onion and mushrooms in the oil or butter, stirring frequently, until the onions soften and colour a little.

Pour in 1.5 litres water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer with the lid on and cook 30 minutes.

Stir the rice then drain the water from it and add the rice to the simmering stock, stirring as you add it. Bring back to a simmer, put the lid back on and cook 25 minutes.

Place the left-over roast vegetables onto a chopping board in one pile and slice the pile about two fingers thick, no need to be precise.

Add to the stock along with the can of chickpeas including the liquid from the can as well, and the soy sauce.

Turn the heat to medium and bring back to a gentle boil, then reduce to a simmer, put the lid on and cook 15 minutes. If the soup is too thick add more water.

Taste for seasoning and serve in warm soup bowls. But make sure you reserve 2 ladles (about 1 ½ cups) of the solids and 1 ladle (3/4 cup) of the liquid for tomorrow's dinner.

Next, the Chronicle will share Peter Gordon's third recipe in the series for Chicken and Pea Pasta.

You will need up to 500g dried pasta, 200g of frozen peas and 250g cheese which can be cheddar, feta, parmesan or a mixture.

And a handful torn parsley, basil or mint leaves, or ¼ cup snipped chives or spring onions.

*An error in Saturday's paper stated that 1.5kg of chicken drumsticks would cost $11 to $15. The story should have stated that 1.5kg will provide you 11 to 15 drumsticks. The average cost of 1.5kg of drumsticks is $5 to $7.