3lb
boiling chicken (giblets removed)
3 slices of streaky bacon
1lb shin of beef
2 lb leeks
1 large onion
5 fluid ounces Scotch whisky
4 pints water
1 level tablespoon dried tarragon
Salt and pepper
8 pre-soaked prunes (optional
but traditional!)
method:
Mix the whisky, tarragon and
sugar in the water. Chop up
the bacon and place the chicken,
bacon and beef in a large bowl
and pour over the whisky marinade.
Leave to soak overnight. Place
the chicken etc in a large soup
pot. Chop up the leeks (reserve
one) and onion and add to the
pot. Salt and pepper to taste.
Bring to the boil, cover and
simmer for two hors, removing
any scum as required. Remove
the chicken from the pot, remove
skin and bones. Chop the meat
into small pieces and return
to the pot. Cut up the shin
of beef, if required. Add the
prunes and the last chopped
leek and simmer for 10 to 15
minutes. It will serve up to
eight people.
observations:
The
"Auld Reekie" does not refer
to the soup being "smokey"
but to the origins of the recipe in
Edinburgh which used to be called Auld
Reekie in the days of coal fires. Cock-a-Leekie
soup makes a regular appearance in Scottish
kitchens but this variation has a special
ingredient - Scotch whisky! It will,
as the say, "stick to your ribs".
