1. In a saucepan heat the chicken stock with the garlic, bay, thyme and some seasoning.
2. Trim the fatty rind off the gammon slices and keep to one side. As the stock is warming, assemble your hotpot - I did mine in a round Le Creuset dish about 25cm across and 10cm deep, but anything deep enough that can sit on the hob is fine.
3. Put a scattering of leeks on the bottom, then about a third of the barley, then about a third of the gammon, some seasoning, a few round slices of swede, and so on and so forth until you have run out of space and/or ingredients: the most important thing is that you season well every couple of layers. Your ingredients pile can be a bit domed on top as it will collapse and compress as
it cooks.
4. Pour on the warmed stock, scatter the gammon rinds and chopped parsley on top for added flavour, put a lid on and bring to a very slow simmer. Cook for about 45 minutes to 1 hour - it's done when all the veg and the pearl barley are soft.
5. Toss out the rinds and let it sit for a few minutes before serving with crusty bread and a good hit of mustard.
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