Lamb Stew

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 200g smoked streaky bacon
• 900g cheap stewing lamb
• Thyme
• 3 onions
• 5 carrots
• 6 medium potatoes
• 700ml lamb stock
• 3 bay leaves
• 85g pearl barley
• 1 large leek
• Small knob of butter

Instructions:

• Heat the slow cooker if necessary, then heat the oil in a frying pan.
• Sizzle the bacon until crisp, tip into the slow-cooker pot, then brown the chunks of lamb in the pan.
• Transfer to the slow-cooker pot along with the thyme, onions, carrots, potatoes, stock, bay leaves and enough water to cover the lamb. Cover and cook on Low for 7 hrs.
• Stir in the pearl barley and leek, and cook on High for 1 hr more until the pearl barley is tender.
• Stir in the butter, season and serve scooped straight from the dish.