There are some flavors which linger in the mind forever; a good soup, a comforting hotpot, a favorite cake or biscuit. One of the enduring flavors of my childhood was a traditional Scotch Broth - my aunts used to make this for us when we went to visit.
You can vary the ingredients if you find some difficult to find. However, I'd recommend that you try and keep in the small quantity of cabbage or kale, because this adds something special to the broth!
Ingredients
1lb neck of mutton (or some beef, or minced beef.... you get the picture!)
Approx 2 pints of water
1-2 ozs of barley
Handful of dried peas, soaked overnight to soften
1 medium turnip
2 carrots
1 leek
1 onion
Small piece of cabbage or winter greens or kale
Parsley, pepper and salt.
I use a large pan with a solid, heavy base to make this soup. (A pressure cooker is fine.)
Put the water into the pan, add the meat and the well-washed barley. Bring to the boil, add the diced turnip, carrots, chopped leek, finely chopped onion and peas; reduce the temperature to a gentle simmer. Cook very slowly for about 90 minutes and then add the cabbage.
Before serving, lift out the meat (ok, not the mince, that wouldn't be possible), dice it and then return it to the soup. Season to taste and add the chopped parsley.
Serve hot with delicious home-made bread or a wholemeal scone (biscuit??)
I hope you enjoy this little taste of Scotland.
Margaret and Sandy MacGillivray run a gift and coffee shop in Helensburgh, Argyll. Margaret also does some web design and her sites include www.selfcateringaccommodationscotland.com (she loves promoting Scotland to overseas visitors!) and www.motelsinflorida.com
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