This healthy chicken soup recipe is chock-full of sturdy root vegetables and whole-grain barley. You can use any combination of dried and fresh mushrooms here. The soup will thicken as it sits on the stove--thin it as needed with more broth or water.
Ingredients
- 1 ounce dried shiitake mushrooms
- 2 cups boiling water
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 medium leeks, white and pale-green parts only, rinsed and coarsely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, chopped
- 8 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps coarsely chopped
- 8 ounces white mushrooms, sliced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- coarsely ground pepper to taste
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
- 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- ½ cup pearl barley
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
- 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
Directions
- Soak dried shiitakes in boiling water for 20 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and reserve the liquid. Squeeze the mushrooms to remove excess liquid, then dice.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add leeks and garlic; cook, stirring, until very soft, about 4 minutes. Add carrots, fresh shiitakes, white mushrooms, salt and pepper; cook, stirring, until the vegetables start to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add chicken and cook, stirring, until it is no longer pink on the outside, about 4 minutes.
- Add broth, barley, thyme, the reserved soaking liquid and chopped soaked mushrooms. Increase heat to high and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover and simmer until the barley is tender, about 50 minutes. Stir in vinegar.