Scotch Broth

There are lots of variations to recipes for Scotch Broth, although often those variations are in the list of vegetables used, and in Scotland, mutton is more often used rather than lamb (lamb is meat from a sheep one year of age or less, while mutton is the meat from sheep from about one year to three years of age), and in the U.S., lamb or beef is likely used by many people. It's my understanding, Scots often use vegetables they have on hand, or to which they have easy access, rather than following some specific list all the time. When I was a kid, Scotch broth was fairly common in cans (I don't recall any family member making it from scratch). It was thick, and it is often more of a stew, but you can certainly thin it out to make it as a soup. You don't want to add the vegetables all at the same time, as it takes varying times for them to cook.  

Rutabaga, also known as Swedes to some, are also commonly used in this dish, but they are generally more common in the fall, but that doesn't mean you won't find them at other times of year, and they are highly durable, which has made them a staple in some cultures. 

Ingredients (6 to 8 servings): 

 

1 1/4 pound lamb, cut into small pieces (about 1/2 inch pieces)

couple lamb bones

2 1/2 tablespoons lard (or butter and oil mixed)

1 cup chopped onion

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup pearl barley

1/2 cup green split peas

2 bay leaves

1 1/2 tablespoons thyme

1 cup chopped carrot (peeled)

1/2 cup chopped parsnip (peeled)

1/3 cup chopped turnip

1 cup chopped leek, rinsed well

2/3 cup cabbage, shredded

6 cups chicken broth (more if later needed, or you can just add water)

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

 

To a pot, add the lard (or butter/oil) over medium heat, then add the onion and stir it around occasionally until it softens. Add the minced garlic and stir for another minute, then add the lamb, the lamb bones, pearl barley, green split peas, bay leaves, thyme, salt and chicken broth; bring to a simmer and adjust the heat to maintain a gentle steady simmer, then use a lid or cover with foil and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 2 1/4 hours. Now add the carrot, parsnip and turnip, stir well and replace lid or foil, simmer for another 1 1/4 hours, again stirring occasionally. Now add the leek, cabbage and ground black pepper, stir well and simmer a further 40 to 45 minutes (if the soup is too thick, you can add some more chicken broth or just water). You can always add some more salt or black pepper to suit your own taste. Top each serving with some chopped parsley, or add the parsley directly to the soup, if you prefer. 

 

 

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Miss-This is the verb and noun form, but NOT the shortened form of "mistress" used as a title for an unmarried woman. "Miss" is distantly related to "migrate," a Latin-derived word likely borrowed from that language, but with French reinforcement, and to "permeate," another Latin word borrowed from that language, and it is more closely related to the prefix "mis-," which is from the Germanic roots of English (although some specific words with the prefix in English are borrowings from French, which had the prefix from Germanic Frankish; thus, the same Old Germanic source). "Miss" goes back to the Indo European root "mey/mei," with the notion of "change, change location." This gave Old Germanic "miss(i)jan(an)," which meant "to go wrong;" thus also, "to fail at." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) the verb "missan" meaning, "to fail to hit that which was intended, not to take notice of something," and this then became "missen," before the "en" was dropped for the modern form. The Germanic form also gave Old English the noun "miss" meaning, "loss, lack, absence," where it has remained for all of these centuries. The mid 1500s saw the verb influence the noun meaning with, "a failure to hit something intended, failure to succeed at." Relatives in the other Germanic languages: German has "missen," also the prefixed form "vermissen," Low German has "missen" (also "vermissen" from standard German?), West Frisian has "misse," Dutch has "missen," Danish and Norwegian have "miste" and "misse," Icelandic has "missa," Swedish has "missa" and "mista."