Categories: lamb, soup, winter

Ingredients

• 1 neck of lamb (400-500g), on the bone, trimmed of excess fat, cut into 4 pieces
• 100g ( 1/2 cup) pearl barley
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 250g swede, diced
• 4 garlic clove
• 2 or 3 sprigs thyme or rosemary, tied together
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt/freshly ground black pepper
• 6 small chat potatoes, halved
• 2 leek, white part only, thinly sliced
• quite a lot of chopped flat-leaf parsley
• Crusty bread, & lemons to serve
• Caerphilly cheese (Welsh cheddar-style cheese) or a strong, bitey cheddar, to serve

Directions

1. Put the lamb neck pieces and pearl barley in a large saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring slowly to the boil, skimming any fat and impurities that rise to the surface. Add the onion, carrots, swede, garlic, thyme and bay leaves and season lightly with salt and black pepper. Bring back to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 2 hours.

2. Add the potatoes and continue to simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked. Remove from the heat.

3. Use a slotted spoon to remove the lamb neck pieces from the soup; cool slightly, then remove the meat from the bone.

4. Add the lamb meat back to the soup with the sliced leek and return to medium heat for 5 minutes. Check the seasoning and stir in the parsley.

5. Ladle the soup into deep serving bowls. Serve with lemons, crusty bread and a chunk of cheese.

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