It’s cold. And a bit miserable out there. And there has been plenty of flu going around this year, worse than I’ve seen it in the last few years.
Obviously chicken soup is the answer.
I made this soup the other day, and it reminded me of how much I love barley added to slow cooked food, and how nourishing it feels when you eat it!
I cooked and rinsed the barley before adding it for this recipe, but feel free to just throw it in and letting it cook in the soup if you don’t feel like dirtying another pot – just remember that it will make the soup look a little more cloudy. It will need about 20-30mins of cooking time.
Add or subtract any veggies that you want, it’s soup after all, there are no wrong answers.
If you want to make this vegetarian then substitute the chicken for a tin of mixed, drained beans.
I know the addition of the parmesan rind may seem a bit weird but trust me, it really enhances a soup or a slow cooked dish. Don’t throw out your rinds when you’ve finished a wedge of parmesan, just pop them in a bag and store them in the freezer or later.
- 1 brown onion, chopped. Or 1 leek, sliced.
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed
- 2 stalks of celery, chopped
- 1 large carrot chopped.
- 1-2 potatoes, peeled and chopped into cubes
- 4C of chicken or veg stock.
- 1-2 chicken fillets, thigh or breast
- 1C cooked barley.
- 1-2C chopped cavallo nero, or kale.
- A chunk of parmesan rind- optional
- Fresh parsley.
Heat some olive oil in a large pot and add onion.
Cook gently until soft, then add celery and garlic. Cook 2-3 mins, add carrots. Sweat all veggies for several minutes, make sure they don’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Then add the potatoes and cook for another few minutes.
Add all of the stock. At this stage I throw in the chicken fillets whole and let them poach while the soup is simmering away (but feel free to cook them separately and add them towards the end).
The fillets should be done after 15-20 mins, but just pull one apart and check that it is done through. Then I take them out, shred the meat and return it to the pot.
Once the vegetables are soft, add the cooked barley, the cavallo nero, and the parmesan rind and allow to simmer for another 15mins or so. The parmesan won’t disintegrate into the soup but does give a beautiful umami flavour to the dish and somehow lifts it to something extra special! You’ll need tongs to fish around and remove the rind before serving.
Season to your liking, and then serve with plenty of fresh parsley.
