Scotch Broth

		The next choice of the voters was the most traditional of all Scottish foods, a rich warming, filling soup. Perfect for a cold, wet climate where the winds blow, and we all moan about the weather. Ancient recipes will advise you to cook this with a whole sheep’s head, but we can’t seem to find these in Tesco, so we now substitute a cheap cut of lamb or beef. This Scots equivalent of French pot-au-feu is a meal in a bowl, inexpensive to make, and nourishing. The recipe below should serve six, twice over.

Ingredients:

1 lb (450g) Neck or shank of lamb (or mutton if possible)
1 lb (450 g) Hough (shin) of beef
2 large chicken legs or chicken bones left over from roasting. A stock cube will do if others unavailable)
2 large onions, 1 large carrot, and a similar weight of peeled turnip.
Green tops of two leeks, and a large handful or cupful of pearl barley
6/8 cloves (for the onion), and tied bunch of fresh herbs (bay leaf, parsley, thyme and rosemary)
4/5 unpeeled cloves of garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper

Recipe:

1. Brown the meats in a frying pan, and then cook on high in the oven for three quarters of an hour. Meanwhile poke the cloves into one peeled onion.

2. Chop all the other vegetables

3. Add 4 pints (2 litres) cold water to large cooking pot and put in the meats, and the scrapings off their pan, before adding the chopped vegetables, herbs, chicken (legs, bones, or cube).

4. Bring slowly to the boil, then skim off excess fat.

5. Simmer for 4/5 hours, allow cooling, then skimming again, and take out bones and herb bouquet.

6. Remove then chop up meats, return them to the pot and reheat, check seasoning and serve steaming hot. To make this a gourmet broth add a large glass of sherry before serving.