Krupnik (Barley Soup)

Krupnik is a delicious vegetable and barley soup. It can be served as a starter, or as a main. You can add more meat and barley if you want your soup to be richer, or more water to make it a light dish. Krupnik is very easy to make, healthy and filling. The soup is often served as a summer quick meal, to warm up in winter or to calm down an upset tummy. Krupnik is a regular meal on my table and my boyfriend loves it!

Prep Time: 20 min, Very Easy

Cook Time: 1 hour

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

4-6 chicken wings (or chicken tights)

3 middle size carrots

1 parsnip

Half of celeriac

1 leek

1 onion

2 garlic cloves

4 middle size potatoes

2l water
2 Bay leaves
3 grains of allspice

Half cup of barley (ask for ‘kasza jeczmienna’ in Polish shops)

Salt, black pepper, parsley

Sour cream, bead and butter for serving.

Method:

1.     Wash chicken wings or tights and boil them, with the skin, in a stockpot, for about 20 minutes. In the meantime you can prepare the veggies: peel and wash the carrots, parsnip, celeriac, but keep them in whole pieces. Peel and slice leek and onion.

2.     Now skim off scummy foam from the broth and add the whole pieces of veggies, sliced leek and onion, and some garlic, bay leaves and old spice. Cook for about 20 minutes. Peel potatoes in meantime.

3.     When the veggies are cooked, take them out, together with the chicken. Put the potatoes and barley into the broth and boil for about 15 minutes.

4.     When the veggies and chicken cool down, and the potatoes are cooked, peel the chicken and cut it into small pieces, put them back into the stockpot. Grate the veggies into the pot and cook them all together for about 5 minutes. Season the soup to taste with salt, black pepper and parsley. You can also add some ‘Vegeta’, which is a really good for soups composition of spices available is Polish shops.

5.     To serve, pour into bowls and add a teaspoon of sour cream (the best is 12% sour cream from Polish shops). Goes very nicely with bread and butter. Enjoy!