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A perfect pick-me-up.

1 chicken weighing about 1.25kg/2³/₄lb

1 stick of celery, sliced

1 carrot, peeled and halved

2 leeks, white parts only, cleaned, trimmed and chopped

2 medium onions, peeled and chopped

1 bay leaf

6 peppercorns

1 sprig of tarragon

50g/2oz butter

2 tbsp plain flour

100ml/3¹/₂fl oz whipping cream

1 tbsp dry sherry

salt

1 small bunch of chives, finely sliced, to garnish

Serves: 4-6

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour

50 minutes plus cooling

1 Choose a saucepan, with a lid, that fits the chicken and allows a little room for other vegetables. Put the chicken into the centre of the pot and surround with the celery, carrot and half the leeks and onions. Throw in the bay leaf, peppercorns, tarragon and a generous pinch of salt and pour over enough water almost to cover the bird, leaving the top of the breast clear. It will poach in the steam. Put on the hob and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a slow simmer. Put on the lid and cook very gently for 11/2 hours.

2 When the time is up, remove from the heat and allow to cool for as long as it takes to remove the chicken safely. Put the chicken to one side.

3 Pour the cooking liquor through a fine sieve into a clean pan and discard all the vegetables and seasonings. Boil the liquor until reduced to about 1 litre/11/2 pints.

4 Meanwhile, in a clean pan, melt the butter on a medium heat and add the remaining chopped onion and leek. Fry until soft, but not coloured. Add the flour and stir well to make a smooth paste around the vegetables. Fry for a couple of minutes, then gradually stir in the reduced cooking liquor. Increase the heat and bring to the boil, stirring all the time. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly, then liquidize in batches.

5 Return the liquidized mixture to the saucepan and bring back to a simmer. Add the cream and sherry.

6 Using your hands, remove the breast meat from the chicken carcass, discarding the skin. Shred the meat into very small pieces and add to the soup. Season with salt to taste and serve in warm bowls, sprinkled with the chives.

When we’ve had a really full day, or we’ve battled through bad weather and traffic to get home, or if someone is feeling ill or down, nothing beats a simple supper to revive the spirits.

We all have foods we crave when we’re not feeling 100 per cent; Megan loves my chicken soup, and Holly egg and soldiers, while Jack and Matilda are comforted by anything on toast. In our family, soups are right up there on the list of comfort foods, along with juicy steak sandwiches, fluffy mash, deliciously fresh and zingy salmon steaks, or a perfectly cooked roast. Desserts are a weekend thing for us, and none of us crave them during the week, so simple, savoury food is usually enough to lift the mood and cast aside the cares of the day.

I’m a great believer in the power of food to heal and soothe; and by this I don’t mean reaching for the chocolate as soon as you get through the door to make yourself feel better. Normally I find that listening to my body and having just a little of what I crave works wonders.