Chicken and Barley Stew

• 2 teaspoons oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 slices bacon, diced
• 2 sticks celery, sliced fine
• 1 carrot, diced
• 12 cup pearl barley
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 6 skinless chicken thighs, cutlets
• 4 teaspoons paprika (I used half smoked, half sweet)
• salt and pepper
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 12 cup frozen baby peas
• 4 tablespoons sour cream
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1. Preheat oven to 160c.
2. Heat the oil(in an oven proof pan) over a medium heat, add the onion, bacon, garlic, celery and carrot and cook gently, stirring for a few minutes until the onion is softened.
3. Remove from the heat.
4. Sprinkle over the pearl barley and scatter the thyme sprigs over.
5. Combine the paprika, salt and pepper and sprinkle the mix over the chicken cutlet.
6. Lay these over the veg/barley mix.
7. Pour over the stock.
8. Cover and cook in the oven 1 1/2 hours or until the chicken is very tender and barley has absorbed most of the water.
9. Remove the chicken to a plate, remove the twigs of the thyme, add in the peas, sour cream and parsley.
10. Return the chicken to the pan and pop back in the oven for a few minutes to heat through then serve.
11. Nice with steamed veg-we had cauliflower and silverbeet (swiss chard) with ours.

oil, onion, garlic, bacon, celery, carrot, pearl barley, thyme, chicken, paprika, salt, chicken stock, peas, sour cream, parsley

Taken from www.food.com/recipe/chicken-and-barley-stew-488341 (may not work)