Low-calorie meatball soup

In a three-liter pot, we cook a clear broth: add washed chicken breast, remove the foam when it boils, then season with salt and pepper to taste, add finely chopped onion and grated carrot, bay leaf, and seasoning (of your choice), and simmer on low heat until the chicken is cooked.

We prepare the meat filling separately – from any meat (depending on your calorie options: I use half chicken breast and half beef), onion can be passed through a meat grinder or finely chopped (I think this makes the meatballs juicier), we salt, pepper, and season it, add 1-2 eggs and a bit of strong alcohol (vodka/ouzo/rum) for softening (about 30-50 ml), mix well until smooth, cover with a lid and leave it for a while - let it soak.

Cook the pearl barley separately: rinse in cold water, cover with cold water, and boil for 20 minutes, then rinse again in a colander.

Add half of the boiled pearl barley to the minced meat and mix.

Once the broth is cooked, we remove and discard the bay leaf, take out and set aside the chicken (which can be served separately for breakfast or another occasion; I take it to work for lunch), bring the broth to a rolling boil and quickly roll small balls from the minced meat in our palms - these are the meatballs, immediately dropping each into the boiling broth. (If it seems that there is not enough water after adding all the meatballs, add some from the kettle, don't hesitate, the meatballs will fix everything, just taste for salt!)

Reduce the heat, add the leftover pearl barley and finely sliced potato to the soup (it's better to cut the potato in advance, soak it in cold water, and rinse to remove starch). Cook for another half hour to forty minutes until the meatballs are ready. Ten minutes before the end, add the sliced leek.

That's it. Let's turn it off. It will sit for a bit – then it can be served.