Chicken and leek soup 'cock-a-leekie'

Can you read

cock-a-leekie

without sounding like a rooster crowing in your head?

I bet not.

Is this one of the best names a chicken soup can have?

Surely yes.

Well, it's not the only good thing about this traditional Scottish soup: its slightly salty, slightly sweet, smooth and comforting taste is even better.

A perfect recipe to say goodbye to soup season and start welcoming fresher dishes.

Cock-a-leekie soup is typical of Scottish cuisine and as popular as

haggis

,

scotch pie

,

scotch eggs

or

shortbread

.

According to Eleanor Cowan in her book

Traditional Scottish Recipes

, "it is a very old recipe enjoyed by the kings of Scotland and the working class alike."

And he also adds: "many years ago it was prepared with an old boiling hen, a rooster at the end of its days, and its meat was used for another dish."

A rooster at the end of his days is not something we all have on hand, so we will substitute it for ordinary chicken.

Regarding the rest of the ingredients, except for the leek, there are variants: there are those who add the chicken giblets to the broth, those who use potatoes or barley to give force to the soup instead of rice, and those who choose not to put the prunes -although , from my point of view, they give a very good point to the dish.

Difficulty

It takes time but it is not difficult.

Ingredients

For 4 people

• ½ chicken

• 3 leeks

• 1 bay leaf

• 25g white rice (not steamed!)

• 50 g of prunes (about 4)

• Salt

• Pepper grains

Preparation

Put the chicken in a pot next to the green part of the well cleaned leeks, the bay leaf and four or five peppercorns.

Add enough water to cover the ingredients a couple of fingers on top.

Bring to a boil.

When it starts to boil, lower the heat to a minimum and cook for three hours.

Remove the foam from the surface - all the impurities are here - with a slotted spoon as it forms.

After that time, strain and let cool in the fridge.

Reserve the chicken.

When the broth is cold, remove the layer of fat that has formed on the surface.

Return to a pot, heat and salt.

Cut the white part of the leek into slices one to two centimeters thick and the plums in half.

Add to the broth along with the rice.

Shred half the chicken and add to the soup.

This is ready when the rice has cooked and the leek is tender.

Serve hot.

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