Cock-a-leekie Soup (vegetarian style)

A filling and nutritious Scottish soup recipe.

Vegan. Hands-on time: 15 mins. Total time: 55 mins.

Contributed by Mike Lewis (July 2011).

Cock-a-leekie is a traditional Scottish soup, usually made by slowly boiling a chicken along with leeks and rice. The chicken is then removed and served separately.

Fortunately, it's very easy to make a vegetarian version of cock-a-leekie. It's just as nourishing as the original, and the absence of the fowl can only improve the taste.

Chicken apart, traditional cock-a-leekie has one ingredient that might surprise you: prunes. If you never thought of adding prunes to soup before, do give it a try - it's not as strange as it might sound. If the idea doesn't appeal, try adding them anyway, but remove them before serving.

The quantities given here will make four to six nice warming bowls of soup.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 lb (450 g) leeks, cleaned and trimmed
• 2 - 3 carrots (or a similar quantity of other vegetables, such as parsnips, kale or broccoli)
• 1 - 2 potatoes
• 1 tbsp. uncooked long-grain rice
• 8 cups (70 fl. oz, 2 liters) vegetable stock or water
• 8 - 10 prunes(be sure there are no stones)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Heat the oil in a large thick-bottomed saucepan.

Cut the leeks into small chunks. Gently sauté these in the oil for a few minutes.

Peel and chop the carrots or other vegetables and the potatoes. Add these to the pan, along with the rice. Continue sautéing for several more minutes. Stir frequently to prevent the rice from sticking.

Add the stock. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently for about half an hour.

Add the prunes to the soup about 15 minutes before it has finished simmering.

Add seasoning to taste. Serve immediately.

Note on quantities and temperatures:
Quantities are given in American (cups), imperial (oz, fl oz) and metric (g, ml) units. Do not mix the units - use one or other system throughout the recipe.
See also How much does a cup weigh?
oz = ounces, fl oz = fluid ounces, g = grams, ml = milliliters, tsp = teaspoons, tbsp = tablespoons.
Oven temperatures are given in degrees F (Fahrenheit) and C (Celsius).
For fan-assisted ovens, reduce the temperature by 20F or 10C.