Hebridean Scotch Broth
Submitted by bauhs
Hebridean Scotch broth is a traditional two-day mutton and pearl barley soup with turnip, cabbage, carrots, and leeks. The barley soaks overnight in the stock for a thick, hearty Scottish stew.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
3 hrsREADY
11 hrsThis is proper Scottish cooking, the kind that takes two days and rewards your patience with a broth so thick your spoon nearly stands up in it. Neck of mutton simmers for hours until the meat falls from the bone, and then pearl barley soaks in that rich stock overnight, absorbing flavor and thickening the broth as it swells.
The next day, diced root vegetables go in: turnip, carrots, onion, and cabbage cook for an hour, with leeks added in fine rings during the last 10 minutes so they keep their shape and color. A tablespoon of fresh parsley in each bowl is the only garnish this broth needs.
The recipe gives you a choice: strip the meat from the bones and stir it back into the soup, or serve the meat separately as a main course with boiled potatoes for a proper two-course Hebridean meal.
Kitchen Tips
- Use mutton if you can source it, not lamb. Mutton has a deeper, gamier flavor that stands up to the long cooking and gives the broth its backbone.
- Skim the scum and fat diligently during the first boil. A clean broth at this stage means a clear, rich soup at the end.
- The overnight barley soak isn’t optional. It transforms the broth from thin and watery to thick and velvety.
- For fluffy boiled potatoes as a side, drain most of the water after boiling and steam them in the covered pot, shaking regularly, until they go dry and floury.
Variations
- Add diced swede (rutabaga) alongside the turnip for a sweeter root vegetable presence.
- Stir in a handful of chopped kale during the last few minutes for a more modern, greens-heavy version.
Ingredients
Directions
Note: Neck of mutton may be either whole or in chops (use lamb only if you have to).
Start to cook this dish the day before serving.
Boil the neck of mutton in a large covered pan in 2½ pints lightly salted water for 2 hours (or more if the meat needs it).
Skim off all the scum and the excess fat as it rises to the surface of the water.
Take out the meet when it is tender.
Put in the barley and leave it soaking in the stock overnight.
Next day, bring the stock and barley back to the boil.
Prepare and dice all the vegetables except the leeks to the stock and cook for another 60 minutes.
Add the leeks, cut into fine rings, 10 minutes before the end of cooking.
If you want to have the meat in the stew, strip it off the bones, cut into small pieces and return it to the soup before reheating thoroughly.
Put a tablespoon of parsley in each plate, and pour in the soup.
If you prefer a two-dish meal, serve the meat as a main course afterwards with potatoes.
Bake the potatoes if they are mature.
Or boil them in their jackets if they are new.
For really fluffy, floury boiled potatoes, Cook whole and unpeeled for 12 to 15 minutes, depending on average size.
Then drain out all but a little of the water, lid the pan tightly and steam the potatoes for another 10 or 15 minutes, shaking regularly, until they are dry and floury in texture.
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