This is the taste bud bonanza that all students on our A Taste of the Cotswolds course cooked, which took place on the 18th February.

If you like the look of this be sure to place your booking for our next A Taste of the Cotswolds course

Ingredients
For the soup stock
1 x 1.5kg/3lb organic free-range chicken
3 free-range chicken carcasses, roughly chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled, finely chopped
2 sticks celery, finely chopped
4 fresh parsley stalks
4 litres/7 pints cold water
For the chicken livers
100g/3½oz chicken livers, trimmed
100ml/3½fl oz buttermilk
salt and freshly ground black pepper
50g/2oz butter
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley, to garnish
For soup garnish
4 baby courgettes, sliced into rounds
1 bunch baby carrots, sliced into rounds
4 spring onions, cut into batons
100g/3½oz barley, cooked
100g/3½oz peas, shelled and cooked
100g/3½oz broad beans, out of their pods, inner membrane removed, cooked
For soda farls
450g/1lb plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 heaped tsp bicarbonate of soda
¼ tsp cream of tartar
300ml/½ pint buttermilk
1 free-range egg, beaten
drizzle vegetable oil
100g/3½oz unsalted butter

Method
1. For the soup stock, remove the breast and leg meat from the chicken and reserve in the fridge. Place the rest of the chicken along with the chopped chicken carcasses into a large pan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Drain, then return the chickens to the pan and add the finely chopped onion, carrot, celery and parsley stalks. Cover with the 4 litres/7 pints fresh cold water and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
2. Add the reserved chicken legs to the pan and cook for a further 20 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove the legs from the stock and shred the meat with a fork. Place the meat into a container and chill in the fridge until needed.
3. Allow the stock to reach room temperature, then cover and chill in the fridge. When chilled, strain the stock through a muslin cloth then freeze overnight in a container.
4. Dip the sides of the container in hot water for a few seconds to loosen the frozen stock from the sides, then tip the frozen block of stock into a sieve lined with a muslin cloth, placed over a clean bowl. Allow the stock to defrost, until all of the melted stock has dripped through into the bowl, leaving behind any impurities in the cloth.
5. For the chicken livers, place the chicken livers into a bowl. Cover with the buttermilk and leave to soak, covered, for two hours in the fridge. Drain, then pat dry and set aside until needed.
6. For the soup garnish, bring the chicken stock to the boil in a clean pan and blanch the courgettes, carrots and spring onions in the stock for 2-3 minutes, or until tender. Add the shredded cooked chicken leg meat, along with the cooked barley, peas and broad beans. Warm through for 4-5 minutes, then remove from the heat and keep warm.
7. For the soda farls, mix the flour, salt, sugar, bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar together in a bowl. Make a well in the centre, then pour in the buttermilk and crack in the egg. Mix lightly together, drawing in the dry mixture from the sides, until the mixture comes together to form a dough.
8. Roll the dough out on a floured work surface until 1cm/0.5in thick and cut into 4cm/1.5in rounds with a pastry cutter and lightly flour both sides.
9. Brush a frying pan with a little vegetable oil, then fry the soda farl rounds over a low heat for 4-5 minutes on both sides, or until golden and cooked through.
10. In a separate frying pan, melt the butter until foaming, then fry the cooked soda farls for 2-2 minutes on both sides, or until crisp and golden-brown.
11. Season the chicken livers with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Melt the butter in a frying pan until foaming, then fry the livers for 2-3 minutes on both sides, or until golden-brown but still slightly pink in the middle. Transfer to a bowl and crush the livers with a fork. Spread the chicken livers onto the toasted soda farls and garnish with the finely chopped parsley.
12. To serve, bring the chicken soup to the boil. Ladle the soup into four serving bowls and serve the soda farls with chicken livers on the side.