Cock-a-Leekie Soup: An Easy Scottish Soup Recipe

People often think of pureed vegetables when they think of soups. However, many hearty soups contain a combination of meat and vegetables and are full of flavour. One example is the traditional Scottish cock-a-leekie soup.

It is a Scottish version of chicken and vegetable soup, with large pieces of the ingredients in a thin broth. As the name suggests, leeks are one of the primary ingredients in this soup. Although there are many versions of this easy soup with chicken, it traditionally also contains either prunes or raisins.

There is evidence that this Scottish soup originates from the 16th century and that it was originally a two-course meal. According to Taste Atlas, the broth was served as a starter, followed by meat and vegetables as the main course. Eventually, the two courses became one.

Now, this traditional Scottish soup is often served at St. Andrew’s Day and Burns celebrations. It is also popular in homes across Scotland as a hearty and warming family meal.

This easy chicken soup recipe uses a whole chicken to make soup for six people. You can roast the chicken yourself or buy a ready-cooked chicken. You can use the leftover chicken from a roast dinner if you make less soup. Alternatively, you can fry diced chicken breasts or chicken thighs in a frying pan to use instead.

If you have cooked the chicken from scratch, you can use the chicken’s juices or the bones to make your own chicken stock. Otherwise, use ready-made chicken stock or make some using stock cubes.

Here is how to make this easy cock-a-leekie soup.

Ingredients for Cock-a-Leekie Soup

• 1 medium chicken, bones removed and shredded
• 2 leeks, chopped into thick slices
• 6 slices of streaky smoked bacon
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
• 2 sticks of celery, sliced
• 1 onion chopped
• 1-litre chicken stock
• A glass of white wine
• 1 can of prunes
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp dried thyme (or a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme)
• 1 tbsp olive or vegetable oil
• Salt and black pepper to taste

How to Make Cock-a-Leekie Soup

1. If you are cooking the chicken yourself, cook the chicken and leave to cool.
2. Remove the bones and skin from the chicken and tear the chicken flesh into chunks.
3. Peel and slice the vegetables, and cop the streaky bacon into pieces.
4. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat on the hob.
5. Add the bacon pieces, carrot, leeks, onion, and celery to the pan, then fry until the bacon is going golden and the vegetables are beginning to soften.
6. Pour the white wine into the pan and turn up the heat, so the wine boils. While it is cooking, use a spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan.
7. Add the chicken pieces, bay leaves, and thyme to the pan, then pour over the chicken stock.
8. Turn down the heat to medium and simmer the soup for 40 minutes.
9. During cooking, skim off any fat that rises to the top of the pan.
10. Add the prunes to the pan and cook for a further 10 minutes.
11. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste and remove the bay leaves from the soup.
12. Spoon into bowls and serve with your favourite bread.

Additional Tips

• Due to the thin liquid nature of the broth in a cock-a-leekie soup, croutons are not the best option as an accompaniment to this soup as they will quickly become soggy. Dumplings are a better option.
• You may prefer to chop the prunes in half before adding them to the soup. An alternative to prunes is a cup of sultanas.
• If you enjoy Scottish cuisine, then you might like to try our recipes for cock-a-leekie and Cullen Skink.