Traditional Scottish Cock-a-Leekie Soup Recipe

Countdown to Burns' Night 2015

Traditional Scottish cock-a-leekie soup

Cock-a-leekie soup is for me a pretty unusual soup in more ways than one. Above all, it is a traditional soup at least two or three centuries old which has a very modern sounding ingredients list. Prunes in chicken and leek soup? It sounds like some experimental creation from the fusion craze of the 1970's, or perhaps the brainchild of a "trendy" London or Edinburgh wine bar owner. I know the idea sounds a little unorthodox - and yes, even off-putting at first - but the combination definitely works and  hopefully you'll consider giving this very traditional Scottish soup recipe a go for your Burns Supper.

The one significant adaptation I have made from the traditional is that I have used only chicken thighs, rather than a whole chicken. This is because I believe chicken thigh meat works far better in soup than particularly chicken breast meat, which can become stringy, tough and extremely unpalatable. You could of course however use a small whole chicken instead if you wish.

Very basic chicken stock ingredients

Ingredients (Serves 4 to 6)

4 whole chicken thighs
2 sticks of celery, washed and roughly chopped
1 medium white onion, peeled and quartered
1 large or two small/medium carrots, washed, topped and roughly chopped
5 pints cold water*
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper
8 ounces (200g) soft dried prunes
1 medium leek (stalk only), sliced to 1/4 inch discs
Freshly chopped parsley to garnish

* You will need 3 pints of chicken stock/broth for the soup proper. As much of the liquid will be lost to evaporation and other factors during the making of the stock, extra is required from the outset.

Chopped vegetables for making chicken stock

Directions

Put the chicken thighs in to your soup/stock pot along with the carrot, celery and onion. Season with the dried herbs, salt and pepper before measuring out and pouring in the cold water.

Assembled and prepared ingredients for chicken stock

Put the pot on to a high heat until the water reaches a simmer. Reduce the heat and continue to simmer for twenty-five minutes.

Cooked chicken thighs are removed from poaching liquor

Use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken thighs from the pot to a deep plate. Allow to cool just enough that they can be comfortably handled (roughly fifteen to twenty minutes).

Chicken thigh meat is plucked from bones in large pieces

Peel the skin from the chicken thighs. Pluck the meat off in fairly large pieces. Discard the skin, return the bones to the stock pot and cover the meat, setting it aside for the moment.

Solids are removed from boiled down stock with slotted spoon

Bring the stock back to a simmer, cover and leave to simmer gently for a couple of hours. Use a slotted spoon to remove and discard the solids from the pot. No need to be too pedantic as the stock will be getting strained anyway.

Straining part cooled chicken stock

Suspend a large sieve over a large bowl and line with a couple of sheets of kitchen paper. Ladle the stock in to the sieve in stages to strain. You may need to change the kitchen paper two or three times as it becomes clogged with grease.

Strained chicken stock

The stock should be returned to your (washed out) soup/stock pot.

Prunes and leek for cock-a-leekie soup

The leek and prunes should be added to the stock which should be brought back to a simmer for twenty minutes. The chicken meat should be re-added for the last five minutes of the simmering time only, just to heat through.

Ladle the soup in to bowls and serve, garnished with the chopped parsley.

Cock-a-leekie soup is brought to a gentle simmer to complete process