Aromatic ham and barley soup.

I’ve used barley as a salad base with spring onions, celery, avocado, halved cherry tomatoes and French dressing; or as a replacement for rice in risotto-style dishes. However, barley is at its best in robust, flavoursome soups such as this.

Prepare barley: soak a cup of pearl barley for 30 minutes then, in a soup pot, simmer in about two litres of water - or part stock - for an hour. Meanwhile, fry a chopped onion until golden and add to the pot along with that ham bone left over from Christmas, two peeled and cubed potatoes, one sliced carrot, some rosemary, marjoram, parsley, and plenty of pepper. Salt to taste - the ham will add saltiness.

Simmer gently for an hour or so. Don’t hurry - let the aroma fill the house so that they are tearing down the kitchen door to get at it. Before they do, remove the bone, shred any meat on it and add it back to the pot. Serve with buttered crusty bread.