Rachel Allen - Soup Broth Bread: 120 Vibrant and Heartwarming Recipes

Rachel Allen is a bestselling cookery writer, teacher and TV chef based at the world-famous Ballymaloe Cookery School in County Cork, Ireland.

Her 14 hugely successful cookbooks have sold over a million copies worldwide, and she has written for numerous magazines and newspapers including the Irish Mail on Sunday, the Sunday Tribune, Delicious, Olive, BBC Good Food, and her ongoing weekly food column for the Irish Sunday Independent. Rachel currently hosts RTEs The Restaurant with Marco Pierre White, and her TV series for the BBC and RTE (which include Rachels Favourite Food, Bake, Easy Meals, Cake and Rachels Everyday Kitchen) have been broadcast in over 30 different countries. She has also been a guest on multiple international programmes, including NBCs Today.

Rachel lives in a beautiful home overlooking the sea in Shanagarry, near Ballymaloe in County Cork, with her husband, Isaac, and their three children.

A simple and uncomplicated soup, this relies on good chicken stock and delicious, flavoursome meatballs. Orzo, also known as risoni, is a small shaped pasta, not much bigger than a grain of rice. Indeed, rice could replace the pasta for a gluten-free version of this clean restorative soup.

• 150g orzo
• 400g skinless chicken breast (see )
• 3 large cloves of garlic, crushed or finely grated
• 1 generous tablespoon chopped sage
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus a drizzle for the top
• 1 litre chicken stock (see )
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Place a saucepan of water on a high heat with a few good pinches of salt. When it comes to the boil, add the orzo and stir as the water comes back to the boil. Cook the orzo for 8 minutes, or until tender, then drain, rinse with cold water and set aside.

While the orzo is cooking, cut the chicken breast meat into chunks, free of any skin or membrane. Place it in a food processor and blend until the meat is finely minced. Tip the meat into a bowl, add the garlic and the chopped sage, and season with salt and pepper. Place a frying pan on a medium heat and drizzle in a little olive oil. Take a small piece, about half a teaspoon, of the chicken mixture and fry it for a couple of minutes, turning it halfway through. Taste and add more seasoning if necessary.

Now shape the remaining mixture into meatballs, each about 15g in weight you should get about 26 balls altogether. Fry them in the olive oil over a medium heat, turning them regularly, until theyre cooked on the inside (theyll have a firm spring) and golden all over.

Bring the chicken stock to the boil in a saucepan and add the cooked orzo, the meatballs and the chopped parsley. Season to taste.

Serve in warm bowls, with a small drizzle of extra virgin olive oil over the top.

If you prefer, you can just buy minced chicken from your butcher.

The rich allium aroma of wild garlic in shaded woodlands is one that I adore. A true sign of spring and of all the delicious and super-nutritious foods just waiting to be foraged and turned into wonderful treats.

This soup is just what I long for when the wild garlic is out. Its so special, as you can only pick or buy it when its in season. For the true wild garlic flavour, seek out Allium ursinum, also known as ramsons, wood garlic or buckrams. Another variety is the long-, thin-leaved Allium triquetrum, also known as three-cornered leek, which is less garlicky and slightly more leeky in flavour but also delicious.

Just remember as with all wild foraged foods, if theyre not in your garden, dont pick the root, just snip or pick whats above the ground to allow for regrowth.

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 175g peeled and finely diced potatoes
• 150g peeled and finely diced onions
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 250g wild garlic leaves
• 1 litre vegetable or chicken stock (see )

Pour the olive oil into a saucepan and place over a medium heat. Add the diced potatoes and onions, season with salt and pepper and stir to mix. Reduce the heat to low, cover with a piece of parchment paper and the saucepan lid, and cook for 7 minutes, stirring gently every so often to prevent the potatoes sticking.

While the vegetables are cooking, wash the wild garlic leaves in cold water, then drain and toss dry, either in a colander, a clean tea towel or a salad spinner. Chop the leaves quite finely and set aside.

Once the vegetables have been cooking for 7 minutes, add the stock, bring to the boil over a high heat, then add the chopped wild garlic leaves and cook, uncovered, for just 12 minutes, until the leaves are tender. Taste for seasoning and serve, or set aside then reheat when youre ready to serve.

A few drops of a fruity extra virgin olive oil are delicious drizzled over the broth when serving, if you wish.

This is a wonderfully luxurious and decadent soup. It takes a while, and lots of fish, to make, but it is worth every single minute. If you dont have every type of seafood, thats no problem, just use more of the others, but if you can get a variety of fish and shellfish it does bring such delicious flavours. Just make sure to only use what is really good and fresh and as whole as possible, as the bones and heads contain so much goodness and flavour.

The rouille is a divinely rich emulsion sauce, much like a mayonnaise, but made with bread, cayenne and saffron. It can be made earlier in the day, or even 24 hours in advance if necessary.