Being a spanking new mom to a newborn, I have three main challenges. One is to rest sufficiently; two is managing my time and energy; three is to ensure that I keep my milk supply up for baby’s nutritional needs. For the latter, the name of the game is to breastfeed/pump often, and eat lactogenic foods to help increase milk production. Barley happens to be one of the ingredients said to stimulate prolactin secretion, which increases breast milk in breastfeeding moms.
Here’s a delicious, healthy soup that is easy to whip up in the instant pot (or any pressure cooker). The whole family can enjoy this during the colder months, or when a nourishing soup is desired. P.s. It goes well with a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch. If you make this, let me know how you like it in the comments below.
Instant Pot Chicken Barley Soup
Ingredients
- 6 chicken drumsticks organic
- 1 yellow onion roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 6 stalks celery chopped, 1/2 ” pieces
- 6 medium carrots chopped, 1/2″ pieces
- 2 medium yellow potatoes peeled, cubed 1″ pieces
- 1 cup whole barley rinsed
- 1 liter chicken broth low sodium
- 1 liter water filtered
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp rosemary chopped, dry
- 1 tsp Celtic sea salt, coarse or season to taste
- 1/4 tsp black pepper ground
- 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley chopped
Instructions
- Set your 6 quart instant pot on the sauté function. When the pot is hot, add 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil.
- Add the chopped onions, garlic, and dried rosemary. Sauté until fragrant and onions are translucent.
- Add the barley, and continue stir-frying for another 2 minutes.
- Add the chopped celery, and continue sautéing until fragrant (about 3 minutes).
- Add the chopped carrots, and continue sautéing to release the carrot oil (about 3 minutes).
- Add the chicken broth (1 liter), potatoes, and celtic sea salt. Mix the entire pot of ingredients evenly.
- Then submerge the drumsticks into the broth, and add the water (Add 500 ml at a time. If the water looks like it will go past the maximum line, stop where the line is.)
- Press the “cancel” button to reset the Instant Pot. Close the lid. (Make sure the valve is set to pressure setting.)
- Press the “Soup/Broth” button, and set the time to 6 minutes. (It will take about 20 minutes for contents to come up to pressure.)
- When the pressure cooking stage is complete, let contents sit for another 14 minutes before doing a “Quick Release” on the valve.
- Once the float is down, open the lid, remove the chicken drumsticks, and separate the meat from the bones. Discard the skin, bones, and add the chicken meat back into the soup. Mix well.
- Add any final seasoning touches before serving. Scoop soup up into bowls, and finish with freshly chopped parsley.
Notes
Different brands of salt have different saltiness levels and therefore varies in measurements. For low sodium, use 1/2 tsp of celtic sea salt instead of 1. Ready-to-use broths can also vary in saltiness levels from one brand to another, so it is always best to go conservative on the salt, and season at the end to personal preference and taste. FLAVOR VARIATION
To switch up the flavors, you can substitute the rosemary with thyme, or a soup blend of herbs that work well with chicken, like Bragg Organic Sprinkle Seasoning
. Dry herbs can be substituted with fresh herbs of the same variety. Substitute fresh parsley with fresh cilantro/coriander leaves for a different taste.