Camden New Journal - Recipe for Cock-A-Leekie Soup by Clare Latimer

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The Review - FOOD AND DRINK - Cooking with CLARE
Published: 28th August 2008

A hearty soup to warm you up this winter

Beat the cold and damp with these two warming recipes, writes Clare Latimer

LAST week Scots around the world celebrated St Andrew’s Day. Not much is known about St Andrew except that it is thought that he was crucified by the Romans, the diagonal shape of the cross being the basis for the Cross of St Andrew (white cross on blue background) which appears on the Scottish flag.
To mark the occasion I prepared a hearty Scottish soup to warm the cockles in the chilly weather and then a rich venison recipe from the Cleeve House Farm, who often appear in the Camden Farmers Markets. Okay, they are from Gloucestershire not Scotland, but they have deer fed on the finest grass and treated with care.

Cock-A-Leekie Soup
The ultimate Scottish soup along with Scotch Broth. This can either work as a filling supper dish with chunks of nutty bread, as a starter to a dinner party or if you are poorly it works wonders for coughs, colds and flu and will get you better in a trice.

Serves 4
Ingredients
One x 1.5 kg of boiling fowl.
One onion, roughly chopped.
One bay leaf.
A handful of parsley.
600g of leeks, cut into inch long (2-3cm) pieces, white and green kept separate.
Twelve prunes.
Salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Method
Put the bird in a large pot and nearly cover with water and add the onion, herbs and salt and slowly bring to the boil.
Skim, cover and simmer until tender, approximately two hours.
Remove the bird, and allow to cool slightly.
Meanwhile, add the green part of the leeks to the stock and add the prunes and continue to simmer.
Cut the meat from the chicken into smallish pieces and return them to the soup, with the white part of the leeks. Simmer for a further 10 minutes. Check the seasoning and serve. Soup is generally better the next day, so if you have time, try and prepare it in advance.

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