Vegetable and Chicken Soup

Description:
Perfected this recipe in three attempts.

Ingredients:
2 carrots, peeled and diced
250 grams fresh shiitake mushrooms, cut into quarters
6 stalks of celery, diced
1 large stalk of leek, sliced
3 onions, diced
3 russet potatoes, peeled and diced, soaked in 62deg Celsius water for 20min
100grams fusili
800ml water
700ml chicken stock
Olive oil, 5 tablespoons
Black pepper and salt to taste
2 heaping tablespoonfuls tomato puree
1 tablespoonful dried basil
1 clove garlic, minced finely

1 chicken breast, diced, marinated with 4 tablespoons of light soyasauce 2 tablespoons water, 1 teaspoon sugar, couple pinches of salt, pepper, and sealed with 2 teaspoons of cornstarch.

Directions:
gently heat olive oil in a large pot (6 litres or so), sweat garlic and proceed to fry onions and leeks, turning up heat to medium, for 4-5 minutes.
Toss in celery, carrots and mushrooms, turning and flipping for another 3 minutes or so, season with salt, add water to cover the top of the veggies, and then potatoes, fusili and chicken stock. the liquid should just cover the top of the potatoes and pasta. Add more water if not sufficient. bring to boil for 20 minutes, gently mash the vegetables with a potato masher slightly and then dissolve the tomato paste into the soup, then add chicken and basil leaves, stir and let simmer for another 6 minutes till chicken is cooked and tender. Serve hot!