Chicken and Carrot Fusilli Soup

Season the drumsticks with the salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat and brown the drumsticks in one layer, 4 minutes per side, until the skin is golden. Move them to a plate.

Tip: Browning the skin first gives the broth a deeper, roasted flavour than simmering the chicken straight from the pack.

Lower the heat to medium. Add the onion and carrots to the fat in the pot and cook 6 minutes, scraping up the browned bits, until the onion is soft and translucent. Stir in the garlic and thyme for 1 minute, until fragrant.

Tip: The browned bits on the bottom of the pot are flavour; the moisture from the vegetables loosens them.

Pour in the broth and water, return the drumsticks with any juices and add the bay leaf. Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn the heat down to low, partly cover and simmer 45 minutes, until the meat is falling away from the bone when prodded with a fork.

Tip: Keep it at a lazy simmer with small bubbles; a hard boil clouds the broth and toughens the meat.

Lift the drumsticks onto a cutting board and let them cool 5 minutes. Pull off and discard all the skin, strip the meat from the bones with two forks and discard the bones, cartilage and bay leaf. Shred the meat into bite-size pieces.

Tip: Drumsticks carry small needle-like bones along the shank; feel through the meat with your fingers before it goes back in the pot.

Skim any excess fat from the surface with a spoon. Bring the soup back up to a lively simmer over medium-high heat, add the fusilli and cook 9 to 10 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the pasta is tender with a slight bite.

Tip: If you plan leftovers, cook the fusilli in a separate pot of salted water and add it to each bowl, so it does not soak up the broth overnight.

Stir the shredded chicken and the peas into the pot and simmer 3 minutes over medium heat, until the peas are bright green and the chicken is hot through. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.

Tip: Reduced-sodium broth leaves room to season at the end; taste before adding salt.

Ladle the soup into warm bowls and finish each with a spoonful of grated parmesan and a grind of black pepper.

Tip: The parmesan melts slightly into the hot broth, adding a salty, savoury edge.