I was sorting through my mountains of cooking magazines – I love a cooking magazine, but I don’t need them cluttering up my home. I sat down in the kitchen and flicked through each page, ripping out recipes that grabbed the attention of my tastebuds. I have a pile of about 20 recipes to try and I managed to make two newbies this week, which I will share with you because they were that good! and easy! This casserole is perfect on a gloomy, wet and cold day. Hearty with no need to add a side like mash or rice, but a piece of crusty bread would help mop up the soupy goodness. Now I didn’t have fresh bay leaves so I used dried, and I prefer baby spinach over silverbeet. Don’t cancel out a recipe if you have to substitute a couple of ingredients – work with what you’ve got. Enjoy. 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 2 leeks, cut into 1cm-thick rounds 3 garlic cloves, crushed 100g pancetta, chopped 1kg chicken thighs, trimmed, halved 110g (1/2 cup) pearl barley, rinsed 2 fresh bay leaves 1 bunch silverbeet, stems removed, leaves chopped 150g (1 cup) frozen baby peas 1 lemon, … Continue reading Chicken, barley and pancetta casserole