Chicken and freekeh broth with herbs
A Middle Eastern-inspired broth, simple and clean-tasting. You can use pearl barley, farro or spelt instead of the freekeh, each one will just change the feel of it slightly. (Just make sure you know the cooking times.) Every bowlful of soup is made by the eater, the embellishments added according to taste. If you’re craving heat, a teaspoonful of harissa paste in each serving is good, too.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil plus more to serve
- 4 shallots sliced
- 3 garlic cloves sliced
- 1.4 litres 2½ pints chicken stock
- 100 g 3½oz freekeh
- 1 small fennel bulb
- juice of ½ lemon plus lemon wedges to serve
- 200 g 7oz cooked chicken, torn into pieces
- leaves from 6 sprigs of mint plus more to serve
- 3 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley plus more to serve
- 2 tbsp each chopped dill and coriander plus more to serve
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a medium-large saucepan and gently sauté the shallots until soft but not coloured.
- Add the garlic and cook for another couple of minutes.
- Pour on the stock, reduce the heat to a simmer, then tip in the freekeh.
- Halve the fennel, remove the coarse outer leaves, then trim the top, reserving any little fronds.
- Trim the base, but not too much or the halved bulb could fall apart.
- Cut each half into wafer-thin slices – a mandoline is the best tool for this – and squeeze lemon over them.
- When the freekeh is tender – it takes 20–25 minutes – add the fennel and the chicken and cook for couple of minutes, then add the herbs.
- Check for seasoning, add a good slug of extra virgin olive oil and serve with a bowl of Greek yogurt with crushed garlic and lemon wedges, more herbs and olive oil.