It’s that time of the year. The leaves are changing, there’s a chill in the air, and the ice cream truck has mercifully stopped its 6pm shrieking. Many people (myself included) has made at least one trip to a farm or a patch for their Halloween jack-o-lanterns. Spices mingle with the scent of wood burning stoves and people seem to develop an overwhelming obsession with all things pumpkin.
Not me.
This is the time of the year, for me, when harvests come due and my summer spice haul is finally dry and ready for cooking. This is when I drag out my stew pot for my own seasonal obsession: hearty bowls of delicious soup. A few weeks ago, while the weather was still warm, it began with Japanese mushroom broth. Then, with the first cold snap, it was thick potato stew. Today, I bring you the recipe for over-loaded country vegetable (with chicken, for non-vegans).
All the Best Things in a Bowl
This soup contains many of my favorite garden vegetables and is super easy, albeit a little time consuming. It’s definitely something to try over the weekend or on a day off. It’s also extremely versatile because almost any of the ingredients can be substituted. For example, I added roasted chicken to this batch, which can be omitted for vegetarians. Here’s my ingredient list below; feel free to mix and match to suit your tastes, just be sure to share how you did it so I’ll have something else to try!
One-Pot Chicken & Vegetable “Stoup”
Equipment
- stock pot
- cutting board or mandolin
Ingredients
- 5 lb whole chicken, plucked and gutted
- 2 ea bay leaves
- 1 tsp rosemary
- 1 tsp sage
- ½ tsp garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1½ cup carrots, diced
- 1½ cup green beans, diced
- ½ cup celery, diced
- 1 cup corn
- 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
- 1½ cup barley OR potatoes
Instructions
- Begin by taking clean, gutted chicken and stuff with bay leaves and garlic. Coat skin with remaining seasonings.
- Place chicken in stock pot and fill with water.
- Boil on high until chicken is fully cooked and fall-off-the-bone tender, about one and a half hours.
- Remove chicken from pot and allow to cool before stripping from bones.
- With the broth remaining in the stock pot, add carrots, corn, green beans, celery, and potatoes. Cook on high until potatoes and carrots are fully cooked.
- While vegetables are cooking, strip chicken and dice to chunks.
- Once vegetables are cooked and tender, add chicken, mushrooms, and barley. Cook on medium until chicken is reheated and barley is cooked, about half an hour.
- Serve hot with fresh bread and enjoy!
Hope you enjoy it!
