Ingredients

3 tbsp olive oil 

Approximately 1 lb spicy Italian chicken sausages broken down into large chunks

1/2 cup onion diced

1/3 cup celery diced

1/3 cup carrots diced

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

3/4 cup barley

4 cups chicken stock

1 cup water

2 tsp lemon juice

1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley

1 egg (room temperature) 

Salt and pepper

Method

1. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a deep pot or dutch oven. Add chicken sausage and cook until sausage is golden and crispy and almost fully cooked.

2. Remove sausage from pot and set aside.

3. Add remaining olive oil to pot, add onion, celery, carrots, and a dash of salt and cook until vegetables are caramelized.

4. Add garlic, red pepper flakes, and oregano and cook for thirty seconds.

5. Add chicken stock, water, lemon juice, and barley, and cook on a low boil for 25 minutes. Add parsley and remove pot from heat.

6. Temper in an egg: Whisk an egg in a separate heat proof vessel until there are little bubbles on top. VERY slowly, add in small amounts of the hot broth, whisking continuously, until you’ve added around 1.5 cups of broth in total to the mixture.

7. Add the egg mixture back to the main pot slowly, stirring continuously.

8. Garnish with fresh parsley and red pepper flakes and enjoy! :)

Recipe Tips

Tempering an egg:

The goal of adding an egg to the broth is that it creates a beautiful creamy silky consistency. :) The challenge is introducing the egg without it curdling. Here are some tips to help:

1. Egg must be at room temperature

2. Whisk the egg thoroughly before starting until little bubbles form on top.

3. Go SLOWLY. I start by adding 1-3 teaspoons of the hot liquid at a time, then gradually increase the amount of liquid I add until the mixture is hot.

4. Stir continuously throughout the process.