Start this recipe by preparing the meat balls. Mix all the ingredients together, form into very small balls and quickly fry in a pan with 1 tbsp olive oil to brown all over. Remove from the pan. Next, add the butter to the same pan and sauté the chopped onion, garlic, celery and chopper thyme together for 4 minutes until soft. Next, add in the pearl barley, hot beef stock and season well with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, lower the heat and place on a lid and continue to cook for 30 minutes or until the barley is almost cooked. Add the mini meatballs back to the pan along with the cream and continue to cook for 10-15 minutes more. Serve immediately into deep bowls and garnish the top with chopped parsley.