Soup of the Day: Scotch Broth

My last Chef stint was as the opening Chef at The Haven in Jamaica Plain, Boston's one and only Scottish gastropub.  In doing menu research, I found that some Scotland's best recipes were found in its rich tradition of funny-named soups.  I created my own versions of Scottish staples like Cock a Leekie and Cullen Skink, but perhaps my favorite was Scotch Broth, a hearty wintertime soup of lamb, barley, and root vegetables.  Here's my recipe for Scotch Broth:

1 lamb shank
1 onion, large dice
1/2 bunch of thyme, 3 bay leaves
Chicken stock (homemade is best, low-sodium store-bought is fine)
2 cups pearl barley
1 rutabaga, 2 parsnips, 2 carrots, peeled, large dice

Pre-heat a pot to medium high.  Season the lamb shank thoroughly with salt.  Add a bit of canola oil and sear the lamb shank, turning it every minute or two so that all sides get well browned, and remove.  Turn the heat down to medium low, add the diced onion and a pinch of salt, and sweat until translucent.  Tie the 1/2 bunch of fresh thyme with butchers twine so the stems can be removed later, add the tied thyme, the bay leaves, and the browned lamb shank.  Add enough chicken stock to cover the shank by 1".  On high heat, bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer and cook for 2-3 hours, or until the shank is tender.

Meanwhile, toast the barley in the oven on a sheet tray until is is golden brown.  Make sure you open that oven up a few times and stir that barley, don't let it burn.  Dice your root vegetables.  When the shank is tender, remove it from the broth, and add the barley.  Cook the barley until it is just tender to the bite.  Meanwhile, pick the meat off the shank, and add it back to the broth.  When the barley is minutes from being ready, add the root vegetables, and cook for a few minutes until vegetables are tender but not mushy.  Season to taste with salt (if you use store bought chicken stock, there is already sodium in it and you may not need to add much salt, if any).  Remove the thyme tie and bay leaves, ladle and serve.

This yields a good amount of Scotch Broth.  You can freeze the leftovers in single portions for future use.  It's a great soup to make in bulk, so don't hesitate to double it if your freezer is empty, you can reheat it from frozen in a pot or in the microwave.  It's a meal on its own, and it's also great when you're feeling sick.

Optional: At The Haven, we served our Scotch Broth in a bowl with a roasted 2" beef marrow bone with a straw, so customers can slurp the marrow and broth in a fun, fatty, silly, delicious way.  Also, this soup is rich on its own, the marrow made it over the top, (plus I added a pat of butter to each soup wink wink), so we garnished the soup with chopped fresh parsley and lemon zest (gremolata), which I recommend, whether you use go the extra mile with the marrow or not.

-Chef Wax