Cock-A-Leekie soup is a traditional Scottish soup consisting of chicken and leeks and usually thickened with rice or pearl barley. It also typically contains an unusual ingredient: dried prunes.
The prunes give a nice sweetness to the soup against the peppered chicken and earthy grain.
Serve with a dram of Scotch whisky if you're celebrating this Burns Night.
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Yields:
4 serving(s)
Prep Time:
15 mins
Cook Time:
1 hr 30 mins
Total Time:
1 hr 45 mins
Ingredients
350g
leeks
2Tbsp.
olive oil
425g
skinless chicken thighs
3
rashers streaky bacon, chopped
1l
hot chicken stock
1
bay leaf
1/2c.
pearl barley
15 stoned dried prunes, chopped
large handful of parsley
Directions
Step 1
Slice the leeks, keeping the white and green parts separate. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan and brown the chicken. Remove chicken from the pan and add the white of the leeks. Soften over a medium heat for 10min, then stir in the bacon and cook for 5min.
Step 2
Add the pearl barley and toast for 2 minutes then return the chicken to the pan. Add the stock and bay leaf. Cover, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 30min, skimming the surface to remove fat. Stir in the green part of the leeks and simmer, covered, for another 30min.
Step 3
Lift out the chicken, remove and discard the skin, strip the meat from the bone and roughly tear into pieces. Add to the soup, along with the chopped prunes and season. Remove the bay leaf, spoon the soup into four bowls and garnish with parsley.
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