As it's Burns Night this weekend (Saturday 25 January), I’ve put together one of my favourite recipes for a simple celebration meal.Forget the haggis and whisky sauce, this traditional Scotch broth is straightforward and delicious.
The quintessential Scottish dish for several centuries! Rich, robust
and flavoursome, Scotch Broth represents everything that is good about
rustic home cooking.
Traditional Scottish housewives, ever thrifty and knowing how to make
much of little, knew how to gather up whatever fresh vegetables were
available, add them together with lamb, mutton or beef, some barley,
split peas and lentils (all staple Scottish ingredients), and simmer the
mixture low and slow for hours to achieve a meal that by dinnertime
would nourish both body and soul.There are as many variations of Scotch
Broth as there are cooks in Scotland and this is my interpretation from
memory.Growing up in Scotland in the 1950s and early 60s, there were two
types of soup served at every Scottish table: Lentil Soup and Scotch Broth, both are hearty, filling and inexpensive ways to feed your family.
The
first time I had this dish was in a small homely restaurant in
Dunbar,made for us by a lady called Mrs Maynes. My father took me there
for an impromptu lunch after accompanying him in true bracing seaside
weather round the links*.I
never enjoyed golf as a game but what I did enjoy was the walking and
taking in of the landscaping of a particular course of which there are many
fine examples in the UK.
It was the perfect meal for a cold afternoon and left me feeling happily nourished,warmed through and ready to continue my day. Scotch
Broth is a hearty soup made with meat stock (traditionally mutton) and
vegetables and thickened with barley.To cook it authentically the meat
must cook in the soup,adding its flavour to the vegetables.It can then
be eaten as a separate course after the soup,or separated from the bones
and added in small pieces to the soup,as preferred,much in the style of
how Italian meals are constructed.
It
must be accompanied by a bap.Baps are soft, wodgy, flattish bread rolls
made with white flour,lard,yeast,milk and water and then dusted with
flour.Particularly associated with Scotland,they are traditionally
eaten at breakfast.The closest I have come to them outside of Caledonia
is the Spanish bread roll,pan cristal.
Scotch Broth Serves 6
1 1/2 pounds lamb shoulder or shanks (or beef with bones)
2 tablespoons quality lard or butter
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup pearl barley
1/3 cup dried green split peas
4 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
6 cups home made lamb bone broth
1 large carrot, diced
1 turnip, peeled and diced
1 swede, peeled and diced
1 parsnip, peeled and diced
1/2 cup shredded green cabbage
1 medium leek, chopped, rinsed and drained
Fresh chopped parsley for garnish
Cook
the onions and garlic in the lard or butter until softened, 4-6
minutes. Add the lamb, herbs, barley, split peas, salt and broth.
Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 2 hours.
Skim off any foam.
Add the carrot, turnip, swede and parsnip. Simmer for another hour.
Remove
the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Remove the meat, shred it and discard
the bones. Return the shredded meat to the pot along with the leek and
cabbage. Simmer for another 30 minutes. Add salt to taste. We like
this soup on the thick side, almost a stew. If you prefer the soup a
bit thinner, add some more broth.
Serve garnished with fresh chopped parsley.
*"Links" and "links course" are terms that refer to a specific style
of golf course whose hallmarks include being built on sandy soil along a
coastline. Links courses are buffeted by strong winds that require deep
bunkers to prevent the sand from blowing away. They are also completely
or largely treeless. There are other criteria that specifically define a
links course.
All the first golf courses in the sport's history were links courses
in Scotland. Great Britain and Ireland are still home to nearly all the
true links courses, although links-like courses can be found in other
areas, too.
