Scotch Broth
A traditional, hearty soup featuring pearl barley simmered until tender, enriched with a variety of seasonal vegetables including leeks, root vegetables, and lettuce hearts. This recipe emphasizes a thorough cleaning of the barley and a long, slow cook for maximum texture.
Ingredients
- 3 ounces Pearl barley (Approx. 1/2 cup)
- 4 cups Water (for blanching)
- 2 quarts Beef or Lamb Stock (Or water, as per original text)
- 2 medium Leeks, cleaned and sliced (Original prefers leeks over onions)
- 1 medium Carrot, diced
- 1 medium Turnip, diced
- 2 stalks Celery, diced
- 0.5 cup Green peas
- 0.5 cup French beans (Green beans), cut into small pieces
- 1 small head Hearts of lettuce, chopped (Use Little Gem or similar sweet lettuce hearts)
- 1 pinch Dried thyme
- 1 tsp Salt (Adjust to taste)
- 0.5 tsp Black pepper (Adjust to taste)
- 1 tbsp Fresh parsley (To be blanched and chopped)
Instructions
- 1Wash the pearl barley thoroughly. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the barley, and let it boil for 10 minutes. Drain the barley and discard the water. This process ensures the barley is perfectly clean.
- 2Place the blanched barley into a large pot with the stock (or fresh water). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 4 hours, or until the barley is completely tender.
- 3While the barley is simmering, wash and cut the leeks, carrots, turnips, celery, French beans, and lettuce hearts into small, uniform pieces.
- 4Once the barley is tender, add all the prepared vegetables (leeks, carrots, turnips, celery, beans, peas, lettuce) and the pinch of thyme to the pot. Simmer until the vegetables are cooked through (approximately 30 minutes). Season with salt and pepper.
- 5Briefly blanch the parsley in boiling water for 10 seconds, drain, and chop finely.
- 6Just before serving, throw in the chopped blanched parsley. Serve hot.