Who doesn't want to make a Scottish soup with a name like this? I perused a few recipes and liked that I found prunes and barley in some so that's what I used in mine. A new friend in my neighborhood gifted me some leeks from her garden so that is what inspired this dish tonight. We picked up a rotisserie chicken at Costco so I used the bones to make a broth for this. I saw the leeks cut in big chunks in a lot of the soups, like an inch wide. I didn't do that to mine, but hey, do as you like...
- 6 cups homemade chicken stock
- 6 small leeks, rinsed/cleaned well and sliced thinly
- 2 carrots from a bunch, halved upper side & sliced thinly
- 2 stalks celery, sliced thinly
- 1 large fresh dried bay leaf
- 1/3 cup pearl barley
- 10 dried pitted prunes, cut in thin slices
- 2 cups of chicken, cut into bite size pieces
- Fresh ground pepper and kosher salt, to taste
- Fresh Italian parsley, chopped coarsely, for garnish
I tried to keep this a simple soup and to let the ingredients shine on their own. Anyway, this was pretty easy to construct after the stock was finished.
I added everything on the list above in a Dutch oven then strained in the broth.
I brought to a boil, covered and simmered for a half hour. Bay leaf was removed and dinner was ready.
I served garnished with parsley, S&P and some sliced buttered baguette. I like dipping bread into a soup, especially when the broth is tasty. This was indeed worthy of the dip.
Maybe it's just me, but I love prunes so much and they made it amazing! It totally took this dish from good to fantastic in my eyes though the leeks were present and in a starring role, though second. The sweetness of the prunes was just Mmmmm... The barley was just cooked and toothsome. Overall a HIT! This is one soup I know I won't have to freeze as it will get eaten up before then. 😋😊
No comments:
Post a Comment