Scotch broth

A thick, hearty lamb and barley soup packed with root veg and cabbage. One big pot that's a meal in a bowl, and even better the next day.

Ingredients

• 500 g Diced lamb, trimmed and cut small
• 30 ml Vegetable oil
• 1 Onions, chopped
• 2 Leeks, sliced
• 300 g Carrots, diced
• 300 g Swede, diced
• 1 Celery, 2 sticks, diced
• 125 g Pearl barley, rinsed
• 2 Vegetable stock cubes, made up with 2 litres hot water
• 1 g Bay leaves
• 0.3 Green cabbage, finely shredded
• 1 g Black pepper
• 15 g Fresh parsley, chopped

Method

1. Heat half the oil in a large pan and gently cook the onion, leeks, carrots, swede and celery for 10 minutes without letting them brown.
2. Stir in the barley, pour in the stock, add the bay leaf and bring to the boil.
3. Meanwhile, brown the lamb in the rest of the oil in a frying pan over a high heat until coloured all over.
4. Add the lamb to the pot, cover and simmer gently, stirring now and then, until the lamb is tender and the barley is soft and plump.
5. Stir in the cabbage and simmer for 5 more minutes. Season with pepper, take out the bay leaf, and serve in big bowls with parsley scattered over.