Ham Hock, Pearl Barley, And Cavolo Nero Broth

Total Time: 4 hrs 35 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 4 hrs 25 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 ham hock
• 3 sticks celery
• 3 carrots
• 2 onions
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 1 head garlic
• 30 g sage
• 100 g pearl barley
• 250 g cavolo nero
• drizzle oil

Recipe

• 1 put the ham hock and 4-5l water into a pot with all the veg, herbs, and garlic. bring to the boil, skim, then turn down the heat and leave to simmer for 4 hours, skimming occasionally until the meat is falling off the bone.
• 2 lift the ham out and leave it to cool. take out the veg and put to one side. throw away the thyme and bay leaves.
• 3 chop the veg into nice small chunks.
• 4 put the ham stock back on the stove and bring to a simmer. give it a final skim then add the sage and pearl barley, cooking the barley according to the time on the packet.
• 5 pick and chuck the bigger bits of fat off the ham hock, then shred the meat into soup-size chunks. stir this, along with the veg, into the stock and check the seasoning.
• 6 about 25 minutes before the barley is cooked, stir in the cavolo nero. cover the broth with a lid and simmer until the barley and cavolo are cooked. season liberally.
• 7 serve in big bowls with a drizzle of olive oil and some crusty bread.