CHICKEN, PEARL BARLEY AND CAVOLO NERO BROTH

Serves 4-6 Preparation 15 minutes Cooking about 1 hour When well cooked, humble ingredients are never mundane. High in fibre, pearl barley, a former country-cooking staple, fell out of fashion years ago, but it is now seeing a welcome resurgence. Pearled spelt also works but needs a slightly shorter cooking time.

1 large onion 2 tbsp olive oil 2 carrots, cut into bite-sized chunks 1 large leek, trimmed and cut into 5mm rounds 4 chicken thighs, bone in and skin on 125g pearl barley, rinsed 1.5 litres hot chicken stock, preferably home made 2 handfuls shredded cavolo nero 1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

1 Cut the onion into 8 wedges, then separate them into petals. Heat the oil in a large deep pan and add the onion, carrot and leek. Season with a couple of pinches of salt. Cut out a circle of baking parchment (a cartouche), scrunch it up, wet it briefly under the cold tap, then spread over the surface of the vegetables. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and gently cook for 20 minutes until softened but not coloured. 2 Remove the skin from three of the chicken thighs but leave in place on the fourth (a little fat from the skin will add flavour and is said to be beneficial to the immune system if you’re suffering from a cold). Add to the pan with the pearl barley. 3 Pour in the stock and bring to just under the boil. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the thighs with a slotted spoon and set aside for a few minutes until cool enough to handle. 4 Add the cavolo nero, put the lid back on the pan and continue cooking the broth until the pearl barley is tender yet retains some bite. 5 Shred the chicken, discarding the skin and bones, and return the meat to the pan. Heat through for a few minutes, check the seasoning and garnish with parsley. Serve drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil.