Polish Chicken Barley Soup (Krupnik)

Top down view of Polish barley krupnik soup in brown bowl with spoon.

Chicken barley 'krupnik' soup is a traditional Polish dish, satisfying and simple to make, perfect to enjoy during colder months. It consists of pearl barley, chicken, root vegetables and fresh herbs and comes together in under an hour.

Course Lunch, Soup

Cuisine Polish

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 50

Total Time 1

Servings servings

Calories 194kcal

Author Monika Dabrowski

Equipment

1 Large pot

Ingredients

2 chicken thighs skinless, see *Notes
½ cup pearl barley see **Notes
4-5 dried porcini mushrooms see ***Notes
1 medium onion finely chopped
½ small leek finely chopped, avoid tough green part
3 medium potatoes peeled, cubed
2 small/medium carrots peeled, diced
¼ cup celery root peeled, finely diced
½ small parsley root peeled, finely diced, can be omitted
1 bay leaf
2 allspice berries
1½ tablespoons oil vegetable or olive
7 cups chicken stock hot
2 tablespoons parsley finely chopped
1½ tablespoons dill finely chopped
Sea salt and pepper to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Cook onion and barley: Heat the oil, add the onion, leek, bay leaf and allspice berries and cook gently for 2 minutes stirring often. Add the pearl barley and continue cooking and stirring for 2 more minutes.
Add chicken: Add the chicken, porcini mushrooms, stock, pepper to taste, stir, cover and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
TIP: Clean the porcinis by soaking for 5 minutes in 3 tablespoons of water then gently rubbing with your fingertips to remove any grit.
Add vegetables: Add the carrots, celery root, parsley root (if using) and potatoes, cover, bring to the boil, again, then simmer gently for about 25 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
Chop chicken: Remove from the heat and take the chicken out of the pot. Separate the meat form the bone, chop the meat then return to the pot.
TIP: You can also remove the mushrooms from the pot (if they are quite large), finely chop then return to the pot.
Add herbs: Stir in finely chopped fresh herbs, add more salt and pepper, if needed, and serve.

Notes

*Use either 2 chicken thighs or 1 chicken leg along with 1-2 chicken wings (but increase cooking time in Step 2 by about 5-10 minutes). You can also use turkey neck or wing (and add less chicken). I do not recommend using chicken breast as it's not suitable for prolonged cooking.
**Rinsing the barley before making the soup is optional (don't rinse if you want a thicker broth with a more intense barley flavour).
***The porcini mushrooms can be optional. On the other hand you can intensify the flavour by adding 3 more porcinis.
Refrigerate leftover Polish chicken barley soup for up to 4 days. It might thicken after a while so add a splash of water and adjust the seasoning, if needed, before serving.
Freeze for up to 3 months.

Nutrition