Spring Chicken Barley Soup
A light, barley soup. . .perfect for spring and summer. this is a high fiber, low fat and heart healthy soup. recipe originally from eating well magazine, but switched up a bit after making! feel free to add some salt free all purpose seasoning or italian seasoning in the last 5 minutes of cooking; i used recipe #334780 with great results. the orange peel is the secret ingredient in this recipe. . .brightens it right up!!
Steps
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Add onion and celery and cook , stirring , until beginning to soften , 2 to 4 minutes.
Add garlic to the pan and cook , stirring , until fragrant , about 1 minute.
Add broth , chicken and barley.
Bring to a gentle simmer.
Cover and cook over low heat until the chicken is cooked through , about 20 minutes.
Transfer the chicken to a plate with a slotted spoon.
Return the broth to a simmer and cook until the barley is tender , 20 to 30 minutes.
Meanwhile , shred the chicken or cut into bite-size pieces.
Discard the bone.
When the barley is done , add the chicken , spinach , mushrooms , tomatoes with juice , asparagus , peas , salt and a grinding of pepper.
Return to a simmer.
Cover and cook over low heat until the asparagus is tender , about 5 minutes more.
Gather basil and orange zest and finely chop together.
Ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle each serving with a generous pinch of the basil mixture.
Ingredients
extra virgin olive oil, onion, celery, minced garlic cloves, reduced-sodium chicken broth, chicken breast, pearl barley, fresh spinach, sliced mushrooms, diced tomatoes, asparagus, frozen peas, coarse salt, fresh ground pepper, fresh basil leaf, orange zest