- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 boneless chicken legs
- 150g button mushrooms
- 1 chicken stock cube
- 150g pearl barley
- 200g asparagus
- A handful of wild garlic
- 1 lemon
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 500ml boiling water
- 1.
Peel the onion and thinly slice it. Scrub and dice the carrot. Peel and thinly slice the garlic.
- 2.
Pour 1 tbsp olive oil into a large, heavy-based pan or shallow casserole dish and warm to a high heat. Rub the chicken legs with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the hot pan and fry for 2-3 mins on each side, till lightly coloured all over. Transfer to a plate.
- 3.
Add an additional 1 tbsp oil to the pan if needed and reduce the heat to medium. Slide in the onion and carrot. Tumble in the whole button mushrooms. Fry for 5 mins, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic to the pan and fry for another 1 min.
- 4.
While the veg cook, pour 500ml boiling water into a heatproof jug. Crumble in the stock cube and stir to dissolve.
- 5.
Return the chicken to the pan. Stir in the pearl barley. Add the chicken stock. Bring to the boil, then cover with a lid and reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for 30 mins.
- 6.
Meanwhile, snap the ends off the asparagus spears (they’ll break at the right point when bent). Chop the spears into bite-sized chunks. Shred the wild garlic leaves.
- 7.
After the stew has cooked for 30 mins, drop in the asparagus. Simmer for a further 5 mins, without the lid on the pan (this helps keep the asparagus green).
- 8.
Stir the shredded wild garlic into the stew. Grate in the lemon zest and stir in the juice from 1 half. Have a taste of the stew and add a little extra salt, pepper or lemon juice if needed. Ladle the stew into a couple of warm bowls and serve.
