Chicken, Mushroom And Pearl Barley Soup

I can't remember how I first came upon this recipe, but it's from a blog called Scruff and Steph.  I've been meaning to make it for ages, through the Winter months, and now that it's Spring, ironically I got around to making my version of their tasty soup.  It was delicious!, and hearty.  And I used some of the bio-dynamic pearl barley I had bought in readiness early in Winter.

I had a bit of fun with this recipe, squeezing out the filling from the chicken sausage casings.  Who knew how very satisfying it could be?:-)  The meaty chunks just plopped right on out of their somewhat rude-looking casings (tee hee), ready to be browned up in the EV olive oil.  And they added a fabulous savoury taste and texture to the soup.  Mum used to make pearl barley soup all through the (long, freezing) Melbourne winter, so this reminds me happily of home and childhood.

chunky and delicious soup

Serves 4:


ingredients:


150g. (3/4 cup) pearl barley

400g. chicken sausages 

1 tbs EV olive oil

1-2 tbs butter

1 brown onion, finely chopped

2 red chillies, finely chopped (optional)

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (optional)

80 mLs (1/3 cup) of verjuice or white wine vinegar

380g. mushrooms

2 tbs plain flour

1 Litre (4 cups) chicken stock

250 mLs (1 cup) water

1/2 tsp sea salt 

black pepper, about 8 grinds of the mill

80 mLs (1/3 cup) of thickened cream

2-3 tbs parsley, finely chopped


Method:


Soak the barley in cold water for about 20 minutes, then rinse and drain

Squeeze chunks of the filling out of the sausage casings

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, and tip in the sausage chunks

Fry for a few minutes till they start to brown up

In go the butter and the onion; fry for a few more minutes

Now pop in the chillies and garlic, and stir for a couple of minutes

Pour in the verjuice or vinegar, and give the bottom of the pan a really good stir to get up all the good bits

Then add the mushrooms, stirring for a few minutes till they start to go tender

Stir the flour in well to the pot

Add the stock, water and barley, and the salt and pepper

Bring it to the boil, then turn down to medium and let it simmer away for 30 minutes, stirring regularly so it doesn't stick

Check to see if the barley is how you like it; you may want to cook for a wee bit longer if you like the barley more tender

Add the cream, adjust for seasoning, and throw in lots of parsley

Scruff and Steph suggest serving with crusty bread and grated Parmesan, tho Mr P. and I had it without either of these, and were content


Notes:

Use beef sausages if you prefer, as Scruff and Steph suggest

We noticed that the barley I used was a darn sight better than the stuff you buy at the supermarket, so I suggest hunting out a really good quality one like this one from Mount Zero (nope, not a paid ad; I'm just a fan)

ingredients gathered

give everything a good stir 

ready to eat

hearty and creamy and chunky soup

artwork © Sherry's Pickings