Cats, Sheep, & Penguins

I like thick, hearty soups to the extent that I don’t often make a proper stew; in the interest of full disclosure I’ve begun referring to these soup-stew concoctions as “stoup”. Knowing I have plenty of chicken and an open bottle of red wine, I decided to experiment with a cider & red wine chicken broth, only to discover, as I was heating the broth, that we are out of cider. Undismayed and too hungry to go shopping, I decided to improvise. Sharp readers will note that this was not a significant change from the original plan.

I decided to add barley, one of my favorite stoup ingredients, so I doubled the chicken broth from two to four cups; to this I added one 12oz bottle of lager beer, although next time I will likely add more beer or start with a bit less broth. With the mixture was reducing, I set aside a half cup each of barley and dried shiitake mushrooms.

In my indestructible skillet I sautéed chopped onion, sliced baby bella mushrooms, first in olive oil, then with a healthy splash of red wine; when the wine was mostly evaporated I added about a pound of chopped chicken cutlets.

When the chicken was evenly browned and the stock reduced to about four cups, I added mixed everything into the soup pot, covered, and simmered for about 45 minutes. The result is a hearty mushroom & barley chicken stoup, with a hint of hops and red wine flavors that add savory richness to an earthy body.