Stray Foodie New Year Recipes are written by Michelin-starred chef, Frances Atkins. In 1997, Frances opened the Yorke Arms near Pateley Bridge, where she was the owner for 20 years. During her ownership, she held her Michelin-star status for 16 of those years.
This is the start of the year when we look forward and plan for new beginnings. I’ll be bringing you some of my favourite recipes each week. I’d love to see how you make the recipes your own – let me know by using #StrayFoodie or tagging @thestrayferret in your social media posts.
Cock a Leekie, as the name would suggest, is a chicken cooked in a leek and good beef stock, with prunes added to create some interest. Unusual as it all sounds it has great history, as most classic dishes do.
Cock a Leekie is a Scottish dish often served around New Year. Hogmanay is a very important celebration in Scotland, as many of you might have experienced!
There are many different forms of chicken soup and many households pride themselves on serving the best for medicinal qualities.
It has been known that famous historical cooks infer that prunes are only be added when the leeks are old and bitter, as it could have been in the days before refrigeration. Like all classic dishes over the years they have been tweaked and changed to naturally bring them up to date with current style and availability. But it is basically a soup with a chicken in it, the idea being you should drink the broth first and then eat the chicken.
This recipe serves 4 people.
For the Stock
- 1 Carrot
- 1 Onion
- 1 Parsnip
- 1 Leek
- 1 Fennel
- 1 Clove of Garlic
- 1 Bunch of Thyme
- 1 knob of fresh ginger
- A Little Turmeric
- 1 Stick of Lemon Grass, finely chopped
- 50g Barley
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Chop the vegetables and place in a pan with 2 litres of water, salt, pepper, garlic and thyme and bring to the boil with the ginger, barley and turmeric.
Bring to the boil and cook for an hour.
Pass off the vegetables retaining the liquid.
For the Chicken
- 4 Leeks, washed and thickly chopped
- 1 bunch of Lemon Thyme
- 1 lemon, Zest & Juice
- 1 Chicken Stock Cube
- 4 Prunes
- Dash of Dry Sherry
- 60g Barley (the barley is an important ingredient for the flavour it transmits to the finished dish)
- Spiced Yoghurt (plain yoghurt with your own taste of spice) to garnish.
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Take a free range whole chicken and place in a casserole dish.
Pour over the liquid.
Add the washed and chopped leeks, the grated zest and juice of a lemon, thyme and a chicken stock cube.
Cover with tin foil and place in the oven at 180c for an hour, depending on the size of the chicken.
Remove from the oven and correct the seasoning, add a dash of dry sherry and reserved barley.
Place the chicken on a dish and shred, keep warm.
Place a prune in each of your soup dishes, ladling the leeks and liquid on top of the prune with pieces of shredded chicken and spiced yoghurt.
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