Pearl Barley, Cabbage and Chorizo Soup

When the weather gets cold, I tend to spend my time in the kitchen.  Is anyone else like that?  I have this urge to cook and bake and make yummy good things.  And then eat them and freeze them and have yummy leftovers for a while.  This soup is another Tana Ramsey recipe, and has been teasing me for ages.  It really needs cold, damp weather to be savoured properly.  Finally, the weather cooperated, and I made this soup.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil (listed as extra virgin, but I used regular)
2 onions, peeled and finely chopped (listed as red onions, but I used brown)
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 sprigs of thyme (I didn't have any fresh, so sprinkled in some dried stuff)
250g chorizo sausages, skinned and chopped into bite-sized pieces
1/2 sugar loaf cabbage, shredded (meant to be Savoy cabbage, but I am yet to find one)
100g (about 3/4 cup) pearl barley
squeeze of lemon juice (I may have omitted this)
1 handful chopped fresh parsley (washed thoroughly to remove the caterpillar...)
salt and black pepper (I may have omitted this, too)

Method:
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan on a low-medium heat.  Add the onions, garlic and thyme and cook gently for about 5 minutes, until softened but not coloured (5 minutes always seems like rather a long time).  Add the sausages and fry 4-5 minutes until the oil begins to run.  Meanwhile, put the kettle on to boil.
2. Add the cabbage and pearl barley to the sausages and pour in enough boiling water to cover everything generously.  Bring to bubbling, then reduce the heat and cook gently for 50-60 minutes, until the barley is tender.  Top up with more hot water if the mixture gets too dry.  (I cooked gently for 30 minutes, turned it off, went for a run, turned it back on when I got home, had a shower, and hey presto!  One soup all cooked and ready to go.  Brilliant).
3. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Toss in the parsley, stir through and serve in warm bowls with lots of crusty bread with butter.

Serves 4.  I wouldn't put this in the 'healthy recipe' collection... But it is a good one for when you've earned your treats.