Tomato and Chicken Soup with Barley

After all the elaborate dishes on Purim, the next thing I made was soup.  This started with finding a can of tomato sauce slightly past its date and evolved into an ingredient-clearing powerhouse.  Because that's what soups do.

I got out all the ingredients I planned to use, but hadn't decided on the flavor profile.  It came as I was reaching for herbs and spices.  I've been cooking almost exclusively Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavors for a few months.  Decided to go French with this one, which is a Mediterranean country.  Tend to forget that.

I decided ahead of time that I wanted more chicken than just the can I had left and simmered up two chicken thighs to shred, which also left me with bone broth.  Once that cooled, I had a topping of chicken fat to use for cooking the onions.  I had planned to use olive oil, but here was some free rendered fat.

*1/2 C dry pearl barley
2 Tb olive oil or *chicken fat
*1 C diced onion
*1/2 small cabbage, thinly sliced (about 1/2 pound)
1 rib celery, diced (or *1 Tb dried leaves)
*1 15 oz can tomato sauce
*1 quart chicken broth
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced, or *1 15 oz can, drained
*2 cans or 4 cups shredded cooked chicken 
*1 tsp dry tarragon
1/4 C chopped parsley, or *1 Tb dried
*1/2 tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Barley takes a while to cook.  Up to 24 hours before, rinse barley and place in a saucepan with 2 C water.  Bring to a low boil.  Cover, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until split and soft, about 30 minutes.  Drain.  Refrigerate if a do-ahead.

2.  Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add diced onion and celery.  Cook until it starts to soften, then add cabbage.  Cover and cook until the cabbage is wilted, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3.  Add tomato sauce, broth, chicken, carrots, tarragon, parsley, and thyme.  Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes.  Taste, then add salt and pepper as needed.  Every broth is different.

4.  Finish by adding barley.  Stir and bring the pot back up to temp.  Serve hot.  Leftovers will be thicker, as the barley will continue to soak up the liquids.

Serves 4 as a main, 6-8 as a starter

Difficulty rating  :)