Easy Chicken Thigh and Barley One-Pot

Barley is a food that will be forever linked to my childhood as it brings back memories of Saturday afternoons spent at Nanna Kitty's house enjoying a big bowl of barley soup. My dad always makes a great bowl of chicken and barley soup, as can I but nothing quite beats my nan's recipe.

Barley is packed full of fibre, vitamins and minerals and has shown to help reduce cholesterol so it not only tastes great but is good for your health.

Image Sticky Goey, Creamy, Chewy

With winter now well and truly in swing there is nothing better than a hearty soup or a warm casserole to give your body a little hug. Over New Year, I made a one-pot ham and barley casserole and it went down really well with everyone who tasted it, so I thought I would try it with chicken this week. I love cooking with chicken thighs as they are so versatile and are packed with much more flavour than a boring chicken breast. I left the skin on mine, but if you want to reduce the fat content then you can remove the skin.

Ingredients

2 rashers of smokey bacon (cut into strips)
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 large carrot, chopped
1 stick of celery, chopped
Chicken Thighs ( I used 5)
Small bunch of fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar
125g of barley
250ml Chicken stock
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Seasoning

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 190°/gas mark 5
2. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the bacon until browned. Add the chicken thighs to brown
3. Add the carrot, celery and onion and cook until softened then add the garlic and fry for a further 2 minutes
4. Add the barley, white wine vinegar, rosemary and stock and bring to the boil
5. Season then transfer into a casserole dish and cook in the oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes. You may need to add some water if the barley has soaked up the stock but it is still a bit too chewy. You may need to add further seasoning also.

I am really sorry that I have not got a picture, I asked my husband to take it out of the oven for me and he served it up before I could get a good picture. I will be making it again soon, I'm sure, so will post it then.