Spicy Chicken Barley Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Spinach

Amarante

Fri, Aug 14 2020, 12:26 pm

This was a good version of barley soup and the sweet potatoes went well. I didn't add the spinach to the pot but to individual servings. If I add to the pot, all the soup must be eaten immediately or the spinach becomes slimy and unappealing to me. The spinach cooks - e.g. wilts - in the bowl. If you are serving the soup for a crowd with no leftover, then add spinach to the pot rather than individual bowls.

This could be easily made parve with a good vegetable stock instead of using chickens stock. However most commercial vegetable stocks are not very good. I make a large quantity when I have accumulated enough stock pot veggies and then freeze for use in the future.

Spicy Chicken Barley Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Spinach

Excerpt From: Melissa Clark - In the Kitchen with A Good Appetite

Time: 20 minutes, plus 1 1/2 hours simmering

Serves 6 to 8

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 Spanish onion, chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
½ teaspoon sweet paprika
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch cayenne
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 garlic cloves, chopped
6 cups low-sodium or good homemade chicken broth (see Note)
1 cup pearled barley, rinsed well
1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
5 ounces (1 bag) baby spinach
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro or mint
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Lemon wedges, for serving

1. Heat the oil in a large soup pot over high heat. Add the onion and salt and sauté until limp, about 3 minutes. Add all the spices and sauté until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and sauté for another minute, until darkened but not burned. (If the tomato paste looks too dark too quickly, lower the heat.)

2. Add the garlic and continue to sauté for 1 minute longer.

3. Return the heat to high if you lowered it, then add the broth, 2 cups water, and the barley to the pot. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 30 minutes. Add the sweet potato and continue to cook until the barley and sweet potato are soft, about 30 minutes to an hour more, adding more water to the pot if necessary (it should not get too thick; this is soup, not stew). Add the chicken, partially cover the pot, lower the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Add the spinach and cilantro or mint to the pot and continue simmering until the spinach is wilted, about 5 minutes longer. Stir in the lemon juice and more salt if desired. Serve garnished with cilantro or mint and lemon wedges.

NOTE: If your chicken broth is on the salty side, reduce the salt to ½ teaspoon to start. You can always add more salt later.