Let the Barley Grow

The penultimate weekend in November saw me make a typical winter soup to match the cooler weather that was now starting to arrive my area. In times gone by Pearl Barley was a staple ingredient of many winter soups made in this country and I decided to honour that tradition by making a soup using this interesting foodstuff.

I peeled, top and tailed and diced two carrots, two white onions and a leek which I proceeded to gently fry in some olive oil in my Le Cresceut dish with six ounces of Pearl Barley and the leaves from five stalks of fresh Thyme. I stirred the ingredients constantly for around fifteen minutes so as to ensure that they did not stick to the bottom of the dish before adding a pint of chicken stock to it and letting the ingredients stew on a medium heat for a further half an hour.

After this I let the dish cool, blended the contents, reheated it and then served it. Despite having no actual meat in,other than an essence of chicken with the stock, the presence of the Thyme and Barley brought back memories of the rich chicken casseroles made by my Grandmother in years gone by. This in turn in my mind pushed the clock back to the tastes and smells of meals produced in the kitchens of Old England.

Chicken Casserole Puree anyone?