Traditional Scots soup of chicken and leeks. One pound of potatoes, peeled and cubed, could be substituted for the barley, if desired.
Wonderful flavor but I felt it didn't have enough body so I added 5-medium sized potatoes. Annette Jensen- Canada
Read MoreLeeks: Cut off and discard the root area, 1/8" up the white bulb. Slice the leeks as desired, perhaps 1/4". Use as much as 2" of the green. Then wash the slices thoroughly turning them over and over under running water in a colander to get rid of the sand and dirt in which they were grown. It might take 30 minutes to get the leeks clean. This is vital and not warned of in the recipe. We have been served sandy leeks in restaurants. The recipe is strange, since the ingredients list calls for bite-size pieces of boneless thighs but the directions ask us to take the meat off the bones and chop. I was not able to find condensed broth (no such animal). I used boneless breasts since that's what I had to use up. No doubt thighs would have been more flavorful. I also used more celery, thyme and parsley than called for. Next time I will use more barley, and there will be a next time. The result was bland, as one reviewer said, so I added some Bell's and some S&P and served it with a suggestion to add more as needed. Served with cheddar and crackers.
Read More Wonderful flavor but I felt it didn't have enough body so I added 5-medium sized potatoes. Annette Jensen- Canada
This was very good, and easy, but with all the onions and leeks I wouldn't recommend it before a date. LOL
very good soup, my friends loved it. I didn't use quite as much leeks as called for because the leeks I found were quite big. It served 12 people with leftovers, it was a good lunch.
I also add more barley as stated. I like this soup with cubed potaoes and a squeeze of lemon juice. This hit's the spot! I've made it about 5 times now and it comes out wonderful everytime. Yummy!
This really good. I will definately make this again. I thought 1/3 cup of barley would not be enough so I increased it to 1/2 cup...it was way too much, I should have followed the recipe.
Leeks: Cut off and discard the root area, 1/8" up the white bulb. Slice the leeks as desired, perhaps 1/4". Use as much as 2" of the green. Then wash the slices thoroughly turning them over and over under running water in a colander to get rid of the sand and dirt in which they were grown. It might take 30 minutes to get the leeks clean. This is vital and not warned of in the recipe. We have been served sandy leeks in restaurants. The recipe is strange, since the ingredients list calls for bite-size pieces of boneless thighs but the directions ask us to take the meat off the bones and chop. I was not able to find condensed broth (no such animal). I used boneless breasts since that's what I had to use up. No doubt thighs would have been more flavorful. I also used more celery, thyme and parsley than called for. Next time I will use more barley, and there will be a next time. The result was bland, as one reviewer said, so I added some Bell's and some S&P and served it with a suggestion to add more as needed. Served with cheddar and crackers.
Added potatoes as well,very nice flavour. The leeks I used were small so the onion flavour was not overwhelming.
I just made this soup for a Robbie Burns supper. I had never heard of it before...but it went over great. I added rice instead of barley ( I don't like barley), and I seasoned the chicken and gave it a quick sear in a frying pan before adding to the water...just for extra flavour. I also added some bacon to the water for flavour ( I strained this out later). The soup was not bland and thickened up nicely. Thanks for a great starting recipe.
We found this soup to be easy to make but on the boring side. OK if you are looking for something heathy, but I wouldn't call it comfort food.
The end result is very tasty. The recipe submitter states that you can sub potatoes for the barley but I chose to use both. I added a couple of red potatoes to give it more heartiness and color. This soup is great if you like leeks. Next time I might even throw in some mushrooms.
This is an excellent basic soup that can easily be modified to personal tastes. I browned the chicken first and added flaxseeds. I didn't have thyme, so I used a mixture of dill, oregano and basil. My only complaint was a whole chopped onion was a bit much. Cutting it down to about 3/4's of an onion worked better.
While this version of a traditional recipe is certainly expeditious and reasonably satisfying, heritage recipes such as this and other hearty soups and stews are actually sort of a shadow of the original dish when made with commercial stock and are not allowed to simmer. To begin with, the use of commercial stock is a doubtful shortcut. Stock is so easy to make, costs so little and improves any recipe in which it is used. A good share of the ingredients are simply discarded, rather than utilized: Chicken and turkey carcasses, beef bones, ham bones, lobster shells, etc. If properly cooled and immediately frozen, they are just as convenient as costly store-bought items. It can also serve as the basis for a consommé. While the inclusion of bone-in chicken pieces is commendable, the cooking time really does not yield the sort of extraction that one might desire, therefore my modification. Begin with a concentrated homemade stock and proceed as directed, but save the skin, bones, whatever and freeze for the next iteration. Soups are easy to dilute, or skim, should you desire to do so, or should one encounter unexpected diners, but difficult to rescue if thin or lacking in depth.
Yummy, full of vitamins and easy to make. 5 Stars
Excellent! And what a great new "comfort food"!
Made this last night and both hubby and I (neither of whom ever ate leeks before) loved it. NOTE: I reduced the quantity to FOUR servings. *Used chicken breasts as that's what I had on hand *Used both barley & potato as another reviewer suggested *Added about 1/2 cup grated carrot w/vegetables for color *Added 1 small "tub" of Knorr's concentrated chicken stock. Very tasty, easy, not too time consuming. Will definitely make this again!
Great! Super thick! I added red potatoes, a can of corn, extra herbs, and black pepper.
Add a teaspoon of sour cream to each bowl of soup after serving, you wont regret.
It was a good chicken and leek soup. But true a leekie uses rice, prunes and the old recipes contain beef shin stock. Thank you.
Excellent Winter Soup. Add 1/4" diced Sweet Potato in the last 1/2 hr of simmer and let cool. Re-heat to boil for 3-5 min. The key to this one is in the stock. Consider a bouquet of fine herbs.
I addressed the 'boring' issue by punching up the herbs - about twice as much - and adding a whackload of salt and pepper. (Keep tasting and adding till you're happy - all that chicken fat NEEDS some seasoning!) Made +/- half-quantity today with what I had on hand: 1.5 lbs. chicken thighs, scant 1/4 C barley, one SMALL (2.5-3 oz) onion, in 3 1/2 C water. Added one LARGE (8 oz) leek, 9 oz. potatoes, 2 oz. chopped celery. Finished it with about 1/3 C half-and-half, which made it richer! I read that some traditional versions finish with an addition of prunes (!) and may try that next time - might taste kind of mulligatawny-ish.
Very tasty and hearty however I made a few modifications...Firstly, I added 12 cups of water and 3 cans of chicken broth as I found during the first hour of boiling a lot of the liquid evaporated. I also used leftover chicken breast and added left over potatoes and carrots instead of the celery however I added them only for last half hour of cooking since they were already cooked and soft. Lastly, I cut back on the amount of leeks adding only 3 and using only the "white" parts and just a little green. Also cover the pot during the last half hour of boiling to avoid more lost liquid. Otherwise the soup was awesome! My kids loved it and it's nice and filling especially with the addition of potatoes and carrots.
Yummy!! I loved this soup when I was younger (5) but never made it. I'm glad I did. I took some of the cooked chicken and veggies and blended it to give the soup a more creamy look.
we are used to stronger seasoning so added more s and p and parsley.we like it without potatoes.
This was my first experience cooking and eating leeks. I like them! The soup was very good, except that for some reason, I couldn't find thighs at the grocery store and I ended up using breasts. I think the thighs would have given more flavor. Next time, I'll use the right chicken part.
I made this soup for my guild at the Koroneburg Renaissance Festival for one of our late nights. Everyone who tried it loved it, well one person said it would have been better as a thicker stew than a broth soup (I disagree). I did not add barley and instead I added red potatoes, carrots and turnips. I also used boneless skinless chicken thighs to make it a little easier. It fed 10 adults and a couple kids without any leftovers.
second time I have made this. no barely used a waxy red potatoes cut in quarters thin slices.
Very easy to make. Great tasting comfort food. Wonderful on a cool fall day. We preferred using barley over potatoes. It made for a thicker soup. Might try a little of both next time. The addition of carrots was also good.
An excellent soup, if a bit bland. I mostly followed the recipe and made a half portion. I used both potatoes and barley. Without potatoes, I think more barley should be used. I also used some home made chicken stock as part of the liquid instead of canned. Using bone-in chicken will help boost the chicken flavor. It's worth the extra effort.
I only made a half batch because I had never had leeks before. The only changes I made were to add a potato and carrot. Will definitely be making this one again.
Addded just a few potatoes with the barley. Super-so good for winter cold. Nice soup - definitely soup and not stew but that is exactly what hit the spot!
I made the soup, but I use potatoes and water. I cooked it in my pressure cooker-11 minutes on High, then quick released. I also use chicken drumsticks. And I cooked half of recipe. It was delicious!
This was fabulous! Forst of all i boiled a whole chicken to make the broth. I took that out while i cooked the vegetables (that could be done the day before). Then i pulled the meat off the chick and return ed it to the broth. I am gluten intolerant so I substituted rice for barley. I had some extra carrots and added those. . It was a total hit!
I’ve made this soup on countless occasions. One of those times was for a group of seniors at a local Presbyterian church, most of whom are of Scottish heritage. And the compliments!! Such a simple recipe to get a hearty, flavourful soup that warms both the body and soul!
This worked well with 3 lbs of chicken and three big leeks. The broth was amazing! I don't really measure salt and pepper, so I took a bit of creative license with that part, haha. I also didn't have parsley but I used ground thyme, and when serving, I put a pinch of fenugreek microgreens on top to give it a peppery aroma. My boyfriend and I had seconds and it was great comfort food. Will certainly make again.
This was fantastic. I made it as directed. The whole family loved it. In the future I would add more fresh herbs.
I used chicken broth instead of water, the 1lb of potatoes instead of barley, and added carrots. I cooked it in the pressure cooker and added the fresh thyme at the end. Very comforting.
DID NOT LIKE IT WITH THE CHICKEN WITH BONE. I WILL TRY MAKING IT WITH BREASTS NEXT TIME TO SEE IF I LIKE IT
I added a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, third cup of white wine, two large carrots sliced in small coins and yellow bell pepper. Makes for a pretty bowl.
I really enjoyed making this. I did substitute the potatoes for the barley. I also adjusted the recipe for three but used a little give or take on more substance than soup. My teenage son even liked it and suggested it be made more often.
I've made this numerous times since I found it on the UK site. Excellent and I've made no changes to it. It scales down beautifully for a smaller amount of servings. Thanks for sharing! *Someone commented that they can't find condensed broth - also known as canned chicken broth. Also, it's available and made by Knorr. It can be hard to find at the grocery store; I found the last I bought at Target. Called Knorr Stock and it comes in a small package of 4 "gelled" containers and it's wonderful.
Well it was for 20 and there was barely a drop left when only 15 showed up. 6 where Scottish and where very impressed that a Polish guy made the soup up.
I had boneless skinless chicken thighs which I cut up and sauteed in some olive oil with doubled the onion and also 5 cloves of garlic. I had to use dryed thyme and parsley so I added these (2 or 3 tbsp maybe? Let taste guide you) into the pan about 30sec before adding the water and barley. Fresh herbs would have been better but even so this turned out great! Thanks!
I fiddled with it. Used boneless breasts and chicken bouillon instead of the broth. Added thyme and carrots as well.
I made this soup with potatoes instead of the barley. (I didn't have any barley) So, I used only about four cups of water for boiling the chicken and then followed the rest of the recipe pretty closely. Next time I would add some carrots to it to give some colour. The soup was delicious and was well received by the crowd!
I halved the recipe and did the following: used 2 cut-up peeled potatoes instead of the barley, eliminated the onion, sweated the leeks and celery, used skinless, boneless, raw chicken breasts, used jarred chicken base instead of canned broth, used dried thyme and fresh dill (goes great with any potato or chicken dish.)
Smells wonderful and taste just as great. I used Barley instead of potatoes.
I loved this since I was a kid. Since I have a kid of my own, I needed to cook it fast. I cut up boneless skinless thighs and added them to store bought stock and brought that to a boil. then I added the veggies and let that simmer. I cooked quick cook barely on the side and added it. Quick and easy!
it was quick and a great way to use up the season's last leeks. I made it just as the recipe described.
I made this soup for our family progressive dinner. It was a crowd favorite! I chose to include 3 potatoes (cubed) and 1 1/2 cups of wild rice instead of barley. I also used a Costco rotisserie chicken (boned and shredded) and Swanson's Chicken Broth instead of water to add more flavor. Lastly, I used a 1 lb. bag of frozen leeks (chopped) from Trader Joe's. It was delicious and everyone wants it again next year.
Delicious! The only reason I only gave it 4 stars instead of 5 was because I made adjustments to my own taste, having made it before, and added more flavor. 1) Instead of skinless bone-in thighs, I used ones with skin ( but as you see below, I discarded it after the first simmer, before adding the veggies for the last simmer. 2) I browned the pieces of chicken a bit on both sides, to add some flavor, peeled off the skin and set it aside to add back when simmering them. The pieces of skin easily stayed stuck together in the pot in kind of a ball and were quite easy to *discard* after the first simmering before adding the veggies. 3) I think bone-in, which the recipe calls for, adds flavor, and so does the skin. 4) I used more broth than called for, because the simmering reduced the liquid a lot. I might even add more now that it's done. 5) I added more salt, a few good shakes of "Italian Seasoning," and a bay leaf! 6) I added a small amount of cut up prunes toward the end, just because it's traditional and adds an interesting extra flavor. 7) I kept the simmer down as low as it could go the whole - and I think that really worked well. 8) Several people suggested adding carrots - good idea, but I forgot and will add some to the finished pot.
