This is one of those simple soups that, after making and enjoying it just once, you won’t even need a recipe for it. The addition of Chinese five-spice, with its combination of star anise, fennel seed, Szechuan pepper, clove and cinnamon, really enhances the humble carrot and apple combination, giving it a well-rounded flavour complexity with minimal effort.

SERVES: 8

PREP TIME : 15 minutes

COOK TIME : 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

Anna Cooks: 125+ Delicious & Achievable Recipes for Every Meal of the Day Anna Olson

• Extra-virgin olive oil, for the pot

• 6 to 8 large carrots (about 1½ lb or 675 g total), diced

• 1 large onion, diced

• 2 tart apples, peeled and diced

• 2 cloves garlic, sliced

• 2 tsp Chinese five-spice

• 4 cups (1 L) Grandma-Style Chicken Stock (see below), or store-bought

• 1 cup (250 mL) whipping cream

• Salt and black pepper

• Sweet & Spicy Honey Butter Cashews, chopped, or toasted pumpkin seeds, for garnish

 DIRECTIONS

1. Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of a soup pot over medium heat. Add the carrots and onions and sauté for about 5 minutes, until the onions begin to look translucent. Add the apples, garlic and five-spice and cook, stirring, for 1 minute more.

2. Add the stock and bring the soup up to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pot and gently simmer until the vegetables are very tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

3. Purée the soup using an immersion or regular blender (in batches, if needed) until smooth, then stir in the cream, return to a gentle simmer and season to taste. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with the chopped cashews (or pumpkin seeds). 

Note: The soup will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Grandma-Style Chicken Stock

The aroma of a slowly simmering chicken stock is so comforting, especially in cool weather. What sets this recipe apart is the addition of parsley root—or celery root if you can’t find parsley root. This addition is common in central European soup and stock recipes, and it took me years to identify it as the missing ingredient when I tried to replicate my family recipes. Parsley root looks like a parsnip, and it adds a subtle sweetness and aromatic depth to the stock that, in turn, really gives character to soups like Slovak Chicken Noodle Soup (p. 80, Anna Cooks).

MAKES: about 8 cups (2 L)

PREP TIME : Under 10 minutes

COOK TIME : 2½ hours

INGREDIENTS

• 3¼ to 4 lb (1.5 to 1.8 kg) whole chicken, cut into pieces

• 2 large carrots

• 2 large onions, unpeeled

• 2 parsley roots or ½ celery root

• 8 stems fresh thyme

• 4 bay leaves

• 6 black peppercorns

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the chicken in a large soup pot. Wash and trim the carrots and add them to the pot. Trim the ends of the onions and peel away the outer layer of the papery skin, but leave the under layer of skin on—this adds a golden colour to the stock. Cut the onions in half and add to the pot. Peel the parsley root (or celery root), coarsely chop and add to the pot. Add the thyme stems, bay leaves and peppercorns. Fill the pot with cold water so that it comes just to the top of the chicken and vegetables.

2. Bring the stock up to a simmer on medium heat (to ensure a clear broth, don’t rush this step). As the stock reaches a simmer, use a spoon to skim any fat or impurities from the surface. Reduce the heat to medium-low so that the stock bubbles very gently as it cooks, uncovered. Check the stock every half hour or so, skimming the surface and avoiding stirring it. Simmer for 2½ hours.

3. Strain the stock into a large bowl or other pot. The cooked chicken meat can be pulled and used in a chicken salad or added back to the soup at the end, but most of its flavour and food value are now in the stock. Discard the cooked vegetables and chicken bones. Cool the stock to room temperature and store, covered, in a pitcher or bowl in the fridge until ready to use. 

Note: The stock will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Excerpted from Anna Cooks by Anna Olson. Copyright © 2025 Anna Olson. Photographs by Janis Nicolay. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.

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