A hearty meaty broth jazzed up with some exotic flavours. Remove any juicy pieces of meat from the bones of your Sunday roast (pork, lamb, chicken, whatever) and reserve. You’ll need about 150g per person. Put the bones into a large pot, pour in enough water to come two-thirds of the way up the pan then bring to the boil. Add an onion, halved, 8 black peppercorns, 1 tsp of coriander seeds, a carrot or two, a stick of celery, a couple of bay leaves and 3 star anise flowers. Thinly slice a 60g piece of ginger and add to the pan. Turn the heat down so the liquid bubbles calmly then partially cover with a lid. Leave for 45-60 minutes.
![[Nigel Slater]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2017/10/09/Nigel_Slater,-L.png?width=75&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
For 2 people, cook 75g of pearl barley in boiling, lightly salted water for about 20 minutes till chewily tender. Drain and set aside. Fill the pan with water and return to the heat. Wash 4 big handfuls of greens, such as purple sprouting broccoli, kale and chard leaves, then cook them briefly in the boiling water and drain. Make 4 slices of toast.
Pour the stock through a colander to remove the vegetables and aromatics. Taste and check the seasoning – it will almost certainly need salt. Divide the barley and toast between 4 bowls, add the cooked greens, some of the reserved meat, then ladle over the hot broth. Enough for 2. Ready in 1 hour.
For 4 people, I use approximately 150g purple sprouting broccoli, 125g of chard leaves and 50g of kale. The broth is at its most satisfying when made with pork bones, but a roast chicken carcass is a fine contender. I try to include any jelly from the roasting tin too, as well as bits of difficult-to-carve meat.
