Chicken and Barley Soup

 

Sometime I crave a simple, wholesome, nothing fancy dinner.  Do you ever feel like that?  You know, the weather is cold and damp and your looking for an easy, comforting dinner to warm you up and fill you up in a healthy, sort of, feeling way. This soup is a great example of that kind of dinner. It's pretty quick and easy to make and it tastes homey and very comforting.  The chicken and barley go together really well and it's a unexpected change from the more common combos of chicken and noodle soup or beef and barley soup.  I really liked the addition of vermouth.  It gives the soup a little extra spunk while keeping it's homey personality. 

I brined and roasted a chicken for this soup but you can always take a short cut and buy a roasted chicken from the market.  It would also be great with 4-6 poached chicken breasts.

Chicken and Barley Soup- adapted from The Daily Soup Cookbook

Ingredients:

1- 3-4 pound whole chicken, cooked and shredded into bite size pieces
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 carrots, peeled and diced fairly small
4 celery stalks, chopped fairly small
2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
1-1 1/2 teaspoons salt (will depend on how salty your stock is)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon hot sauce
64 ounces chicken stock
1 cup uncooked pearl barley
1/3 cup dry vermouth
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped

Instructions:

1. In a large stock pan heat the oil over high heat then add the onion, carrots and celery.  Cook, adjusting the heat lower as needed, until the veggies are soft.
2. Add the thyme, bay leaves, salt, pepper, stock and barley.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat, partially cover, and simmer for 1 hour, until the barley is tender.
3. Stir in the vermouth and add the chicken.  Continue to cook until the chicken is heat through. Add water if soup becomes too thick.
4. To serve, remove the bay leaves, ladle into bowls and top with chopped parsley.