Serves 4

I’ve given an idea of how much gammon to use for the soup but you don’t have to be too precise. And because the whole idea is to use up leftovers, you could add new potatoes or a tin of flageolet beans instead of barley to bulk it up.

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1/2 celeriac, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 stick of celery, trimmed and chopped
Leaves from a few sprigs of thyme
50g pearl barley
1 litre ham (or chicken) stock
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
About 200g leftover gammon, chopped into bite-sized pieces
Handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped


Method

1 Heat a large pan with the oil until hot. Add the onions, celeriac, carrots, celery and thyme and stir well. Sweat for 5 minutes over medium heat until the vegetables begin to soften.
2 Add the barley and stock. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer gently for 45-60 minutes, until the barley is tender.
3 Add the gammon pieces towards the end to warm through. Season to taste.
4 Serve with a generous sprinkling of chopped parsley.

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