Cock-a-leekie Soup Recipe

The traditional way of making cock-a-leekie goes thus: Take one chicken, lop off its head, rip out feathers in great clumps with your fists, using pliers pull out the tiny pin feathers. Disembowel, quickly rinse out insides with a hose, run an open flame over the carcass to remove any remaining feather stubs, dump into a large pot of boiling water add eight sliced leeks, hack up chicken bits and eat. If desired add a small can of prunes.

Now doesn’t that sound delightful? If not you can try the modern method:

Ingredients:

One 3 Pound chicken cut up or 3 pounds of chicken in serving pieces

Water to cover (About 2 quarts (8 cups))

1 Large onion cut in quarters

1 carrot in large chunks

1 Stalk celery roughly

1 Bay leaf

8 Whole peppercorns

3 Tablespoons of butter

6 Leeks finely sliced, white and half of the green parts

3 Tablespoons of parsley (Optional)

Salt to taste

Method:

Place chicken in , cover with water, add one onion quartered, the carrot, the celery, toss in a bay leaf and the whole peppercorns. Bring to a boil, reduce temperature and simmer for an hour and a half, skimming any scum that may rise to the top.

After the hour and a half remove chicken parts from the broth, shred meat from bones and set meat aside, discard skin. Strain the cooking broth and reserve the liquid (discard the vegetables). In a clean saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons of butter and cook the leeks stirring constantly till they turn glossy but not browned, strain the cooking liquid into the saucepan  then add the chicken meat, cook for 20 minutes until leeks are tender. 

Some parts of Scotland add prunes during the last ten minutes, some add rice, I add neither most of the time however in the middle of winter rice makes it more substantial and somehow cozy. Like a goosedown eiderdown. If desired sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley just before serving.