Recipe: Spiced Lentil Barley Soup (with sausage and chicken, Sunset magazine, 1980's)

SPICED LENTIL BARLEY SOUP

1/2 pound Italian sausage
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/3 cup uncooked pearl barley
8 cups regular-strength chicken broth
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
1 (about 16 ounce) whole chicken breast
1 cup uncooked lentils
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans
1 (12 ounce) bottle mild salsa
1 pound fresh spinach, washed well, roots and coarse leaves discarded

Remove sausage casings and crumble meat in a 5- to 6-quart pan over medium-high heat; stir often until browned. Remove meat from pan with slotted spoon; set aside.

Add onion, garlic, and barley to drippings. Cook, stirring often, until onion is limp and barley is toasted.

Add broth, parsley, chicken, and lentils. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer until breast is white in thickest part (cut to test), 30 minutes. Remove chicken and let cool, then discard skin and bones. Shred chicken meat and return to pan.

Drain beans; add to soup with salsa and sausage. Heat to simmering.

Chop spinach and stir into soup; ladle soup into bowls.

Makes 6 servings
Source: Grace Kirschenbaum, Los Angeles in Sunset magazine, January 1986