Fill your kettle and boil it. Peel and finely chop the onion. Trim and peel the carrots, then slice them into 1-2cm-thick chunks. Trim the dry ends off the celery sticks and thickly slice them.

Warm a large pan or casserole dish on a medium heat, then add the butter and 2 tsp olive oil. Add the lamb leg to the pan and fry for 4-5 mins till the pieces are browned all over.

While the lamb fries, peel the potato and chop it into bite-sized chunks.

Add the onion, carrots and celery to the lamb. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper then fry, stirring often, for 5-6 mins till the veg have started to soften and brown.

Add the potato and the pearl barley to the pan. Crumble in the stock cube and add the bouquet garni (if you have kitchen string, you can tie the herbs together to make them easier to fish out at the end). Stir to mix, then pour in 1 ltr hot water from the kettle. Pop a lid on the pan, bring to the boil, then turn the heat down a little and simmer for 30 mins.

While the lamb cooks, roughly chop the parsley leaves and stalks. After 30 mins the lamb and pearl barley should be tender. Taste the stew and add a pinch more salt or pepper if needed.

Fish the bouquet garni out of the pan and discard it. Stir in most of the chopped parsley. Ladle the stew into 2 warm bowls and serve garnished with the remaining parsley.