Manx Broth

Ingredients

• 900g mutton or lamb neck/shoulder, bone-in, cut into large pieces
• 2.5 liters cold water
• 100g pearl barley
• 2 leeks, sliced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 small turnip or swede, diced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 1/4 small cabbage, shredded
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• 150g self-raising flour, for dumplings
• 75g shredded suet, for dumplings
• pinch of salt, for dumplings
• cold water, to bind the dumpling dough

Before you cook

• Soak the pearl barley in cold water for at least 4 hours or overnight, then drain.
• Trim any excess fat off the mutton pieces.
• Peel and dice the carrots and turnip into small, even cubes.
• Trim the leeks and slice them into rounds, rinsing well between the layers to remove grit.
• Peel and finely chop the onion.
• Dice the celery.
• Shred the cabbage.
• Chop the parsley and strip the thyme leaves from their stems.
• Mix the self-raising flour, suet, and a pinch of salt in a bowl.
• Stir cold water into the flour mixture a little at a time until it forms a soft dough, then roll it into small balls for dumplings.

Steps

1. Put the mutton pieces into a large heavy pot.
2. Pour in the cold water so the meat is fully covered.
3. Set the pot over high heat and bring it to a boil.
4. Skim off any grey foam that rises to the surface with a spoon.
5. Reduce the heat to low so the liquid barely simmers.
6. Cover the pot and simmer the mutton for 1 hour 30 minutes.
7. Lift the mutton pieces out onto a plate and set them aside to cool slightly.
8. Add the drained pearl barley to the simmering stock.
9. Simmer the barley in the stock, uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally so it doesn't stick to the bottom.
10. Once the mutton is cool enough to touch, pull the meat off the bones and discard the bones and any large pieces of fat.
11. Shred or cube the meat and return it to the pot.
12. Add the chopped onion, carrots, and turnip to the pot.
13. Simmer for 15 minutes.
14. Add the leeks and celery to the pot.
15. Simmer for 10 more minutes.
16. Drop the dumpling balls gently onto the surface of the broth.
17. Cover the pot and simmer for 12 minutes without lifting the lid, so the dumplings steam through.
18. Add the shredded cabbage to the pot.
19. Simmer for a final 5 minutes, until the cabbage is just tender.
20. Stir in the chopped parsley and thyme.
21. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
22. Ladle the broth into bowls, making sure each bowl gets meat, barley, vegetables, and a dumpling.