Soups and Stews: Part 2

Alice's family is from Scotland, where this recipe has been around in one form or another for about 500 years.  Obviously,  this is a crowd pleaser. And it much more palatable to folks than Haggis ever will be!  If you skim some or all of the chicken fat off the top you can pretty much call this health food. If you don't,  well. . . .you know.

Cock-a-Leekie Soup

2 whole chickens, either whole or cut up in quarters or halves. About 5-6 pounds.

½ lb carrots sliced

4 quarts water, approximately

Seasoning Salt to taste, start with 1 teaspoon.

1 cup white wine

1 cup of old fashion oatmeal

3 large leeks, washed, cut in half lengthwise, then sliced into half moons, 1/8 inch thick.

This is not an easy soup to make, but it is well worth it, especially if you’ve got Scottish heritage. I cannot emphasize too much how important is to WASH the leaks. Wash them under running water after you’ve split them down the middle. Peel back each layer. Wash, wash, wash.

Sprinkle chickens with seasoning salt on all sides. Roast at 325 degrees for 1- 2 hours, turning once. You want them nice and golden. When they can be pulled apart at the joints without too much effort, put in them in a large stock pot and cover with about 2 inches of water. Pour all the dripping from the roasting pan into the pot. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for about 30 minutes. Use some of the simmering water to deglaze the roasting pan, pouring it into the pot.

After 30 minutes or so, remove the chicken back to the roasting pan and let cool for a while. Strain the broth if you need to. After the chicken is cooled enough, pick the meat off the bones and shred it up with your hands. You want it really broken up, like good pulled pork barbeque.

Add the meat back to the pot along with the carrots, oatmeal and wine. Simmer for 30 minutes until the carrots are done. As soon as they are done, turn the pot off, and stir in the leeks, let it sit for about 10 minutes, and then dig in!

This is great with nice fluffy scones!