Cai - You'll get a more intense chicken flavour if you start by browning the chicken pieces in the pan, then remove them whilst you caramelise the veg before deglazing with the wine.
LMS - The condensed chicken soup is just a reduced chicken stock thicken with double cream.
If you just want to have the stock base to store in the fridge/freezer then make a fresh stock then chill/freeze it until you want it - I'd suggest leaving the cream out until you actually want to use - frozen cream just doesn't work quite as well.
Chicken Stock
Put a big, thick bottomed pan on a high heat with a splash of oil
Add some chicken wings and/or some bits of chopped chicken carcass - (I like to use wings, as they are cheap and have a lot of flavour)
The goal here is to get lots of brown, sticky bits of almost burnt chicken to stick to the bottom of the pan - so stir occasionally so that as much as possible of the chicken gets in contact with the bottom of the pan.
Once the chicken is well browned then add some chopped onion, carrot, celery and leek and stir to coat in the hot oil for 2-3 minutes, then add half a glass of white wine (or water) and use a wooden spoon to scrap hard at the gungy bits on the bottom of the pan - once the wine has almost boiled away add 2-3 liters of cold water, some whole black peppercorns and a few bay leaves.
Bring the whole thing back to the boil and simmer gently for 30-40 minutes - fish out the chicken bits and veg with a slotted spoon, then pass the remaining liquid through a sieve to remove any remaining debris.
The stock is now ready to store, or you can put it back into a clean pan and gently simmer it until it has reduced by half to concentrate the flavour.
If you are making a pie, then you can follow a similar process in the pie dish:-
Start by browning the chicken wings along with the chicken meat that you want to use in the pie, (I prefer thigh as it has a better flavour and benefits from the slow cooking) in the pie dish, then discard the wings and put the meat to one side.
caramelise the veg in the dish then sprinkle over a little flour - this saves making a roux, and will make the flavoured oil stick to the veg. Stir the flour through the veg so it is evenly coated and no lumps of flour remain.
Return the chicken to the pan along with some liquid (wine/stock/water) and scrape the base of the pan with a wooden spoon as the liquid comes back to the boil, then stir through a little double cream and any desired herbs or seasonings, add the pie top and put it into the oven to cook.
My mouth is watering. I can't believe I am starting to get vegetarian tendancies again!
I buy chicken wings to feed my dog already so I have heaps of them. It shouldn't be too far a stretch for me to accomplish after a quick grocery shop. I sure wish my veggie patch was full of veggies instead of seedlings.
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