Scottish Highland Chicken Soup Recipes

Steps:

• Season chicken with 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Set chicken aside while prepping the other ingredients.
• Put leek greens, carrot peels, celery leaves, garlic, parsley stems, thyme, bay leaf and star anise at bottom of a large Dutch oven or soup pot. Place chicken on top of the vegetables. Add remaining 1 teaspoon salt and the peppercorns, and pour in 8 cups cold water, or enough to just submerge the chicken.
• Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to a simmer and partly cover the pot. Cook until chicken is cooked through and very tender, 45 to 55 minutes.
• While the chicken cooks, thickly slice 3 of the leek whites into 1/2-inch coins. Thinly slice the remaining leek white; set thinly and thickly sliced leeks aside separately.
• When the chicken is tender, using tongs, transfer to a large bowl or plate to cool. Strain the broth into a large bowl, discarding vegetables and herbs.
• Wipe out the Dutch oven and return it to medium-high heat. Add butter, letting it melt. Add the thick leek coins (save the thinly sliced leek for garnish), a pinch of salt and pepper, and sauté until tender and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer leek whites to a bowl (they can go on top of the chicken if there's room).
• Pour broth back into the pot. Bring broth to a brisk simmer, and stir in barley, carrots and celery. Let broth simmer uncovered until the liquid is reduced by a third, and the barley and vegetables are tender, 40 to 50 minutes.
• While the broth is simmering, use a fork or your fingers to shred chicken into bite-size pieces, discarding skin and bones.
• Once the barley and vegetables are tender, stir in shredded chicken, sautéed leek whites and the prunes, and simmer for another 5 minutes to allow the prunes to soften (some might disintegrate). Taste and add salt, if needed. To serve, garnish with thinly sliced leek whites and parsley leaves.

Steps:

• Remove the crusts from the bread and place the bread in small saucepan.
• Cover with the milk and bring to a boil.
• Set aside and allow to cool a bit.
• Pound the minced chicken, almonds and hard-boiled yolks in a mortar until smooth, and then place in a large bowl.
• Gradually beat in the bread and milk.
• Stir in the stock, and then pass through a sieve into a saucepan.
• Bring to the boil, season with salt and pepper, add the nutmeg and lemon juice and simmer for 10 minutes; remove from the heat.
• Beat the egg yolks with the cream and blend in 3 tablespoonfuls of the hot soup.
• Stir the mixture into the soup and heat gently for 2 or 3 minutes.
• DO NOT ALLOW TO BOIL.
• When it thickens, serve with the diced chicken as a garnish.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F
• Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and rub all over with salt, pepper and half the olive oil.
• Combine the remaining oil and butter in a lidded roasting pan and place over medium heat.
• When butter is foaming, place the chicken, breast side down, in the pan and brown for about 4-5 minutes, then turn and brown on the other side for the same length of time. Drain off most of the fat.
• Return the pan with the chicken to the heat and, working quickly, pour the whiskey over it and then set alight. Let the flame die down and then add the broth.
• Cover the chicken with the roasting pan lid (or tuck foil all the way around) and transfer to the oven to bake for about 45-50 minutes.
• When the chicken is cooked, transfer it to a cutting board to rest.
• Drain off some of the accumulated fat and then set the pan on a medium high heat.
• Add a spoonful of water to loosen bits clinging to the bottom of the pan, and then add the cream, stirring as you do so.
• Bring to a boil and let cook for about 2-3 minutes.
• Add the parsley to the sauce and keep warm.
• Section the chicken and serve the sauce at table with the chicken. Serves 4-6.
• Speyside Whisky Festival: Held each year at the beginning of May, the Speyside Whisky Festival provides opportunities to tour some of Scotland's most esteemed distilleries, meet the experts in the whisky industry and, the best part, taste some stellar malts. There is great fun to be had during the evenings, fueled by malt and music and the company of fellow whisky lovers from around Scotland and the world. Visit http://www.spiritofspeyside.com for more information.
• NOTE: The Famous Grouse blended whisky, which, by the way, includes these three whiskies in the blend: Glenrothes (for fragrance), Highland Park (for a light smokiness) and Macallan (for unmistakable richness and backbone).
• New Celtic Cooking.