Southwest Chicken Barley Soup -

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Southwest Chicken Barley Soup

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By Janet E. Taylor

Posted December 27th, 2007

This article is reprinted with permission from The Healthy Southwest Table, by Janet Taylor, (2007, Rio Nuevo)

The Healthy Southwest Table

Servings:	6
Author Notes:	It may be tempting to throw everything in the soup pot at once, but then barley and vegetable would soak up the fat, and most of the healthy substances would be cooked out of the vegetables. Instead, poach a chicken the day before making the chicken soup, so the broth can be defatted and included in this recipe. This doesn’t take any more work, just planning. The vegetables have more textured in this soup than in traditional chicken soup. Years ago, my friend Dolores Rivas Bahti taught me a technique that preserves nutrients in cooked vegetables. Instead of adding quick cook vegetables to soup, place them in individual bowls and pour the soup over the vegetables. That’s what is suggested in this recipe. The squash will be firmer and the spinach will still have some life.
Ingredients:	8 cups defatted chicken stock 1/2 cup unhulled barley 2 celery ribs, coarsely sliced 2 carrots, coarsely sliced 1 large onion, coarsely sliced 1 cup chopped tomatoes 6 ounces spinach, or 5 leaves kale, cut into 1 inch strips 2 cups cooked chicken or poached chicken 1 pound firm organic tofu, drained and broken up, or 1 can pinto beans, drained 1 cup sliced crookneck squash - 1 squash 1/2 cup minced fresh basil, or cilantro leaves 1 Haas avocado, sliced and chopped 3 key limes, halved
Instructions:	In a heavy soup pot, pour in the chicken stock, then add barley and celery to stock. Bring to a boil, turn the heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes. Add carrots and simmer for another 5 minutes. Add onions, tomatoes, kale (if you replace this with spinach, don’t add it now), chicken and tofu or pinto beans. Simmer on low for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Place squash and spinach (if using spinach) in individual soup bowls. Ladle hot soup over the vegetables ad sprinkle with basil or cilantro. Top with avocados and squeeze lime juice over avocados. Calories per Serving 323; total fat 11g; saturated fat 2g; calories from fat 96; protein 27 g; carbohydrates 32g; dietary fiber 8g; sugars 6g.