A Deliciously Tasty Cock a Leekie Soup Recipe
Take a step into Scottish culture when you make one of the country’s favorite dishes, Cock a Leekie soup recipe, the next time you are craving something warm and flavorful. It is essential to know this is a low and slow kind of soup, but it is fulfilling and one of the best chicken soup dishes in the world.
Tied to Scottish History
One of the most astonishing facts about Cock a Leekie soup is that it’s the national soup of the Scots, found in restaurants nationwide and worldwide specializing in Scottish cuisine. This soup dates back hundreds of years and was made by families needing to feed large families with the ingredients they had an abundance of, being chicken and leeks.
It was even written in detail regarding a Knight’s dinner and how it gave that particular taste of Scotland. The secret ingredient, however, is the dried prunes that elevate the dish and transform it from a standard household dish to a national delicacy. It was a broth-based soup in its original state, but it has been known to add cream for a different texture or served over a starch.
Gather Your Ingredients
If you have an afternoon to spare while it cooks, head to the market to grab key ingredients and some optional ones if you want to move this brothy soup into a heartier dish.
- Three pounds of chicken thighs
- Two pounds of sliced leeks
- Five cups of low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
- Five cups of water
- One white onion, diced
- 2/3 cup of dried prunes or plums
- Four cloves of garlic sliced
- One teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves
- One teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper
- Salt to taste
If you want to change this soup dish, you can substitute the broth or not use broth at all. Those watching sodium levels can use only water by doubling the amount above and removing the broth cups. You can also use minced garlic if that’s what you have; opt for a tablespoon instead of slicing the cloves. You can also grab some rice to cook if you want to serve the soup over rice at the end of the dish. This can make it more hearty if you plan to enjoy it as a meal.
The chicken thighs you use are also important. To maximize the flavor of the chicken, you should get the bone-in and skin-on chicken thighs. The bones will help add flavor to the broth while it simmers for hours. However, if your market doesn’t have these chicken thighs, you can opt for a whole chicken or boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
Prepare and Build Your Soup
Once your ingredients are ready, you can pull out your large soup pot or slow cooker and prepare the soup.
1. Clean Your Chicken and Veggies
First, clean your chicken by rinsing it and then setting it on the side. You will start cooking it immediately and let it break down.
Your veggies must be prepared, so wash the leeks first and remove the tops. They are dark in color and should be separated from the bottom. You can begin cutting the rest of the leeks into large slices. Your onion and fresh garlic (if you opt for it) should also be sliced and diced now.
2. Start Cooking the Chicken
In your large pot, turn the burner to medium-high heat and toss in the chicken and water. You want to get the chicken to a rolling boil for about fifteen minutes. Go ahead and add the thyme leaves, garlic, and onion to the chicken.
3. Add in the Leeks
Once the chicken comes to a rolling boil, add the top leeks that were cut and the chicken broth. Turn your burner down to a simmer and cover for the next hour. Make sure to refrigerate the bottom leek slices until you can add them.
4. Separate Your Chicken
After simmering for the first hour, start pulling out your chicken, separating the bones and skin from the meat. Add the meat back to the soup and then place the bones and skin back in so they can continue cooking. If you have a deep colander that you can sit in the pot, put the bones and skin in it so they can continue flavoring the soup without mixing in.
5. Secret Ingredient Time
Before you close your lid, add about half of the bottom leeks in the fridge around the colander in the soup, and then directly on top of the bones and skin, add in the dried prunes. This secret ingredient brings all the different flavors together. Close your lid and let the soup simmer for another hour.
6. Final Check
By this time, the soup has been simmering for two hours, and you must give it a good mix. Taste your soup and see if you need to add salt or pepper. Add in the final leeks from your fridge and check the colander contents. If some bones have broken down too much, you can discard them and any cartilage in the colander. Keep the prunes in there and close the lid for one more hour.
7. Serve Your Soup
After the last timer goes off, go to your soup and remove the colander of bones, skin, and dried prunes. You can discard those into your recycling and mix up your soup. If you did not have a colander, keep these collected, you will want to remove all of them before serving the soup. Ladle the soup in a bowl or over rice and serve it to your guests.
Make The Soup Your Own
While there are some staples to this dish that are required, the Cock a Leekie soup recipe can hold other veggies like carrots, celery, and even potatoes if you want starch but are not a fan of rice. If you add these in, toss them at the last hour when the soup is simmering; as long as they are all diced into the exact sizes, they will cook down to a good tenderness.
This dish is easy to store in the refrigerator for a few days and great for those meals where you want something low and slow to enjoy any time of the year. If you want to keep it low-carb, avoid adding starchy veggies or serving over rice. You can increase the protein in the soup to make it more filling and add celery for a crunchier texture if you are missing it. Feel free to make this dish your own to fit your own palette.