There’s no getting away from it, now that the clocks have changed ‘the nights ARE fair drawin’ in.’ We just have to man up and get a soup pot on.
When I was a girl, and yes, I can still remember, the nuns at our school used to make us pay a shilling to join in a ‘hunger lunch’ once a month. The idea was the money they saved on the normal lunch budget and the contributions from the girls would be sent to ‘the starving children’. The experience was supposed to make us suffer and understand what hunger really felt like.
It didn’t really work out. We loved it. The huge pot of soup they made was piping hot, thick and tasty. The soft morning roll dipped into it made the tastiest and most satisfying meal of the month. We left the dining hall feeling happy, sated and very holy with not even a hint of hunger!
Make a big pot of soup and enjoy a hunger lunch. The bonus is it costs very little and really warms the heart.
Cock-a Leekie Soup
To make a chicken stock: 500g chicken pieces, 2 sticks celery, bunch flat leaf parsley and
1/5-2 litres water
(or, you can use 2 litres of chicken stock with a stock cube if you want to save time.)
2 large leeks
1 medium onion
50g unsalted butter
1 large floury potato
Sea salt and White pepper
Pieces chicken from the broth
2 tablespoons finely chopped flat leaf parsley
6-8 soft prunes and double cream (optional)
Prepare the chicken broth by simmering a 500g pack chicken wings or legs, 2 sticks celery and a bunch of flat leaf parsley in 2 litres cold water for 1 -1/2 hours. Skim if necessary and season with sea salt.
Wash and finely dice chop the leeks and onions, making sure you get rid of any grit that nestles under the leaves of the leeks.
Warm the butter in saucepan, add the leeks and onions, stir and with the lid sauté until softened and translucent.
Strain the warm chicken stock and add to the pot.
Peel and dice the potato and add it.
Simmer gently until the potatoes have softened and started to break down.
Whizz half the soup to thicken it and season with white pepper and sea salt.
Add the boiled chicken pieces from the stock and the finely the chopped flat leaf parsley.
Traditional recipes often had prunes in the soup and even a spoonful of cream to make an more substantial meal.
Serve with a Mull cheddar brown bread sandwich made with lashings of butter.
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