Winter chicken soup with cheddar

This soup is a brilliant way to get rid of leftovers after a roast dinner.And, except for chopping up the veggies, this soup really takes no time to cook up for a healthy, filling and warming cold winter's day lunch. If you have an extra bob or two, spruce it up by adding Parmesan but cheddar will do just fine too.





Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
Thyme
Sage
tsp ginger
1 clove of garlic
1.5 l chicken stock
1 c orzo
1 potato
3 stalks of silverbeet (Swiss chard)
3 carrots
1/4 pumpkin
Small kumara (Sweet potato)
Salt & Pepper
Cheddar or parmesan

Method:
Pour a tablespoon of olive oil in the sauce pan. Soften the onion and garlic.Make sure they do not burn! The burned pieces float to the top of the soup and look rather unappetizing.
Add thyme, sage leaves*, ginger,salt and pepper, and freshly made chicken stock. Bring to the boil.
Add a cup of orzo, chopped potatoes, kumara, carrots and cook for ten minutes.
Try chopping all veggies about the same size cube.
Lastly, add pumpkin, silver beet as they take less time to cook.
And finally, add the shredded chicken left over from Sunday's roast!Cook for a few more minutes so the chicken has a chance to heat up.
Serve with grated cheddar or parmesan on top.

YUM!
Footnote
* I try and be ahead of seasons and pick fresh rosemary, coriander, thyme, sage leaves, basil and chives and freeze them in takeway containers, ready to be used in dishes when needed.