Dr Mobeus
Cock-a-leekie Soup
Cock-a-leekie is often called Scotland’s national soup, and it is essentially chicken and leeks simmered together until everything is soft and golden. The traditional version uses a whole bird, but budget cooks have long known that a few chicken thighs give you the same deep flavour for a fraction of the price. Barley bulks the soup out so it is a bowl of a meal in itself rather than a starter.
The ingredient that raises eyebrows is the prune. A few chopped prunes go into the pot towards the end and melt into the broth, adding a subtle sweetness that plays beautifully against the leeks. It is entirely traditional, entirely optional, and exactly the sort of thrift that defines old cooking: using what you have to make the pot taste better.
The soup improves after a night in the fridge, so it is worth making the full batch even if you are only feeding two. It is the recipe to reach for when leeks are in season and cheap, or when you have a chicken carcass left over from a Sunday roast.
Cock-a-leekie Soup
Ingredients
Method
- Put the chicken thighs, onion, carrot, bay leaf and thyme in a large saucepan. Crumble in the stock cubes and pour over 1.5 litres of boiling water. Bring back to the boil, skim off any scum with a spoon, then reduce to a simmer.
- Simmer for 30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the broth is golden.
- Lift the chicken thighs onto a plate. Strip the meat off the bones and roughly chop it, then discard the skin and bones.
- Add the leeks and pearl barley to the pan and simmer for 20 minutes until the barley is tender and the leeks are soft.
- Return the chopped chicken to the pan along with the prunes, if using. Simmer for 2 minutes, then taste and season with salt and pepper.
Tips and Variations
Use a leftover roast chicken carcass instead of thighs and you will save even more, just simmer it for 45 minutes to get every scrap of flavour. Leeks hold grit between the layers, so wash the slices thoroughly in a colander before cooking. The soup freezes well for up to 3 months. If you cannot find pearl barley, rice or small soup pasta work, but barley gives the best texture.
