Ham Hock and Barley Soup

This hearty soup recipe is delicious, warming and packed with healthy vegetables. It’s filling enough for a main course and perfect on a cold wintery day mopped up with some buttered bread.

Recipes
Posted 21 December 2020
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Prep: 2 hours (including cooking) Cook: 105 minutes
Difficulty level
average
Number of servings
Serves:
8

Ingredients

For the soup

  • Ham hock (about 1.3kg)
  • 2 carrots (small diced)
  • 2 celery sticks (small diced)
  • 1 large onion (small diced)
  • 2 tablespoons of fresh thyme
  • 2 bulbs of crushed garlic
  • 50g pearl barley
  • 1 litre of chicken stock

Method

  1. Place the ham hock in a large, heavy-based saucepan, cover with cold water, then bring to the boil over a medium heat, skimming off any foam that collects on the surface.
  2. Reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour or until the meat can be pulled easily away from the bone.
  3. Remove the pan from the heat and leave the ham to cool in the cooking liquid. Remove the meat from the pan when cool.
  4. With a sharp knife, remove the skin from the ham hock. Shred the meat from the bone and reserve. Reserve the liquid the ham was cooked in.
  5. In a pan, sweat down the vegetables with the thyme and garlic until coloured and softened, add the pearl barley, chicken stock and 2 ladles of the reserved ham hock liquid.
  6. Simmer for 40-45 minutes until tender. Stir through the ham hock meat and serve in big bowls.

A recipe for a happy retirement

With their glossy contemporary kitchens, our retirement apartments and retirement bungalows are perfectly designed for your to cook up a storm. And, if you live in a Retirement Living PLUS property and fancy a hearty meal without the faff, you can pop to the subsidised, stylish and sociable restaurant/bistro when you want to, too.

Learn more about our lovely retirement homes near you, call our friendly team on 0800 201 4811 or contact us online for more information.

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