Chicken Barley Soup

This year, the holiday of Sukkot was one of the most beautiful celebrations that I remember. The weather was unseasonably warm and we spent brilliant, sunny days in the sukkah surrounded by family. On Shemini Atzeret, the temperature dropped 20 degrees Celsius overnight. We sat in the sukkah for one last day, huddled in our coats, eyeing the threatening, gray clouds that were suspended in the sky overhead. Incommunicado because we were observing the holiday, ominous news from Israel began to trickle in. And when Simchat Torah ended, we found out that the unimaginable had transpired.

Chicken Barley Soup

Murderous Hamas terrorists attacked undefended cities, kibbutzim, moshavim, and an open-air concert, on the southern border of Israel, torturing and slaughtering 1,400 people and wounding over 4,000 individuals. The heinous cowards abducted almost 200 Israelis, some mere infants, some children with special needs, and others in their mid-80s with chronic health issues, who are being held captive in Gaza in undisclosed locations. It’s difficult to write about food at this time. But I hope that this recipe for Chicken Barley soup, by food writer Sina Mizrahi, published in her cookbook, Good Food, will offer a very small measure of comfort during this very difficult time.

Assemble your ingredients. 

Aside from the onions and celery, the rest of the vegetables are shredded using the grating blade in the food processor. I chop the onions by hand. The celery can be sliced using the slicing blade of a food processor or sliced by hand.

In a 5-quart soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the diced onion, lower the heat and cook the onions until they are translucent. Add the rest of the vegetables and continue to cook until they begin to soften. Add the barley, salt, granulated garlic, granulated onion, and freshly ground pepper. Add the chicken to the pot. (You can place the chicken in the pot in a mesh soup bag. This makes it easier to separate out and shred the chicken when the soup has completed cooking.) Cover the contents of the pot with boiling water (about 10 cups). Add 2 teaspoons of chicken broth powder and bring the soup to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring often. Clap the lid on the pot, lower the heat, and allow the soup to simmer until the barley swells and the soup thickens, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Keep an eye on the water level in the pot. You may have to add more water.

Remove the chicken from the pot. Allow it to cool for 15 minutes and remove the skin and bones. Shred the meat and return it to the pot. Add more boiling water to the pot if the soup is too thick. Adjust the salt to your taste. Serve piping hot.

Print Recipe

Chicken Barley Soup

Soups and Salads

By Sina Mizrahi, Good Food – Serves: 10-12

Prep Time: 30 minutes – Cooking Time: 90 minutes – Total Time: 2 hours

Rich chunks of chicken suspended in a golden broth filled with carrots, zucchini, celery, potatoes, and barley.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 1/2 pounds chicken drumsticks (about 6)
• 1 large onion, chopped into a medium dice
• 2 carrots, peeled and grated
• 5 stalks celery, thinly sliced
• 2 medium zucchini, trimmed and grated (leave the skin on for color and texture)
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and grated
• 10 cups water
• 2 teaspoons chicken consommé powder
• 1 cup pearl barley
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1 teaspoon granulated onion
• a few grinds of black pepper

Instructions

1

In a 5-quart soup pot over medium heat, heat the oil until it shimmers. Add the diced onion, lower the heat and cook the onions until they are translucent. Do not allow the onions to color. Add the rest of the vegetables and continue to cook stirring from time to time, until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the barley, salt, granulated garlic, granulated onion, and freshly ground pepper.

2

Add the chicken to the pot. (You can place the chicken in the pot in a mesh soup bag. This makes it easier to separate out and shred the chicken when the soup has completed cooking.) Cover the contents of the pot with boiling water (about 10 cups). Add 2 teaspoons of chicken broth powder and bring the soup to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring often. Clap the lid on the pot, lower the heat, and allow the soup to simmer until the barley swells and the soup thickens, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Keep an eye on the water level in the pot. You may have to add more water.

3

Remove the chicken from the pot. Allow it to cool for 15 minutes and remove the skin and bones. Shred the meat and return it to the pot. Add more boiling water to the pot if the soup is too thick. Adjust the salt to your taste. Serve piping hot.

Notes

This soup freezes beautifully. Soup made with pulses thicken when made ahead. If the soup becomes too thick, add water to thin it and season again to taste before serving. Adapted from "Good Food" by Sina Mizrahi with permission of the copyright holders, ArtScroll / Mesorah Publications, Ltd.