Peel and finely slice the onions. Peel and finely chop or crush the garlic. Scrub the carrot and finely dice it (no need to peel it unless you prefer to). Cut the pears into quarters, slice out their cores and chop the pears into bite-sized chunks.

Pour 1 tsp olive oil into a deep frying pan and warm it to a medium-high heat. Season the partridge breasts with salt and pepper. When the pan is hot, add the partridge and fry for 2 mins on each side, till golden brown. Lift the partridge breasts out onto a plate and set aside.

Turn the heat under pan down to medium. Add the onions, garlic and carrot and fry for 8-10 mins, stirring often, till the veg have softened. If the pan starts to look a little dry, add 2 tbsp water. Meanwhile, fill and boil your kettle.

Add the pearl barley to the pan, along with the pears and the thyme sprigs. Crumble in the stock cube and pour in 550ml boiling water. Add 1 tbsp cider vinegar and stir well. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down, cover with a lid (you can use a baking tray if your pan has no lid) and simmer for 20-25 mins, till the barley is tender.

While the barley is cooking, strip the kale leaves off their stalks. Roughly chop the leaves.

When the barley is tender, stir the kale into the pan. Add the partridge breasts, cover with the lid and cook for 5-6 mins, till the partridge is cooked through and the kale is wilted.

Taste the stew and add more salt or pepper if needed. Fish out the thyme sprigs, then ladle the stew into a couple of warm bowls and serve.