Slow-cooked Irish stew - Good Food Middle East

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 200g smoked streaky bacon, preferably in one piece, skinned and cut into chunks
• 900g cheap stewing lamb like middle neck or scrag (ask at your butcher counter), cut into large chunks
• small bunch thyme
• 3 onions, thickly sliced
• 5 carrots, cut into big chunks
• 6 medium potatoes, cut into big chunks
• 700ml lamb stock
• 3 bay leaves
• 85g pearl barley
• 1 large leek, washed and cut into chunks
• small knob of butter