I was looking for a nice chicken soup that is a little different when I came upon this Scottish classic. I wanted a nice mildly brothy chicken soup to go with the weather and I wanted something a little different from the usual Mushroom & Barley with Chicken that I make in the winter. Though similar this soup has more liquid, a rich buttery flavor from the braised leeks, and a touch of sweetness from the dried prunes.
This soup is also made a little different from how I normally make soups. Though I started out marinating my chicken like normal, instead of searing it I poached the chicken thighs off in a seasoned broth. Once the chicken was mostly cooked I added the leeks and slow poached them until tender as well. Additionally I used a blend of long grain rice and barley so the texture was a little less uniform. With the addition of the grains the vegetables and chopped prunes were also added. I simmered the blend for a least an hour so that the sweetness of the prunes flavored the soup and everything became tender.
Season to taste, serve, and enjoy.
Ingredients
Chicken Stock 3 qt
Leeks, sliced and cleaned 3 ea large
Carrots, peeled & oblique cut 2 ea large
Celery, sliced 3 stalks
Chives, chopped 1 oz
Thyme, chopped .5 oz
Sherry Vinegar 1/4 cup
White Wine 3 cups
Avenue Spice 2 T
Garlic, sliced 5 cloves
Bay Leaves 3 ea
Chili Pepper*, chopped 1 ea
Prunes, chopped 1 cup
Barley 1/2 cup
Long Grain Rice 1/2 cup
*I had grown Thai chili peppers so I used them. You can substitute 1 T crushed red pepper and adjust the heat to your liking towards the end.
Garnish
Parsley or other chopped herbs
Method of Procedure
Marinate the chicken overnight.
Add your chicken stock, sherry vinegar, chives, thyme, white wine, garlic, bay leaves, chili peppers, and Avenue spice then bring to a simmer.
Add your chicken and gently poach for 40 minutes until the chicken is cooked. Remove from broth, cool, and roughly chop and put back into the broth.
Add your leeks and continue to simmer for another 30 minutes.
Add your remaining vegetables, chopped prunes, and your grains then bring back up to a light boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the barley is tender, around 1 more hour*.
Season to taste and serve. Garnish with chopped herbs.
*You can add your rice later as it takes less time to cook than the barley. I added it at an earlier time so that it was a little overcooked and had less of a bite to it.
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