The quintessential Scottish dish for several centuries! Rich, robust and flavorful, Scotch Broth represents everything that is good about rustic home cooking.
I’ve partnered with Aneto to bring you this delicious soup.
The first time I had this soup was in a small pub outside Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. It was the perfect meal for a cool afternoon and left me feeling happily nourished and ready to continue my sightseeing adventures.
In her 1856 cookbook, Cook and Housewife’s Manual, Margaret Dods referred to Scotch Broth as the “Pot au Feu of Scotland.” Pot au Feu has also been referred to as “the quintessence of French family cuisine [and] the most celebrated dish in France” so in like manner is reflective of the important place that Scotch Broth has taken at the Scottish family table for centuries.
Scotch Broth has been referenced in literature dating back to the 1600’s and it’s popularity has crossed many borders, including the U.S. where the recipe appeared in an 1881 American publication “The Household Cyclopedia.”
The popularity of Scotch Broth has become so widespread that it’s sold in cans in grocery stores and even some of the biggest brands have picked it up.
I’ll admit I’ve never had the canned version but what I can tell you is that once you’ve made and tried the real deal you’ll understand why Scotch Broth has been so central to Scottish cuisine.
The term “broth” is a little misleading because more so than a thin liquid that is sipped out of a mug or slurped from a spoon, it is a rich, hearty, thick and satisfying soup – really more of a stew – that has traditionally been eaten as the main meal. It’s loaded with vegetables, some fork-tender meat and generously thickened with barley, split peas and/or regular or red lentils.
Traditionally Scotch Broth would be made from whatever vegetables were in season but these would typically include rutabagas, carrots, turnips, cabbage, and leek. Mutton or lamb is very traditional and imparts an especially rich flavor, but beef may also be used. And if you have some bones to add to the pot, all the better.
Rich, robust and flavorful, Scotch Broth represents everything that is good about rustic home cooking. Traditional Scottish housewives, ever thrifty and knowing how to make much of little, knew how to gather up whatever fresh vegetables were available, add them together with lamb, mutton or beef, some barley, split peas and lentils (all staple Scottish ingredients), and simmer the mixture low and slow for hours to achieve a meal that by dinnertime would nourish both body and soul.
And so we present Scotch Broth, “the Pot au Feu of Scotland!”
Quality ingredients are key to make the best Scotch Broth. For the best flavor possible, use a high quality chicken broth as its base, especially if you’re not adding soup bones. We’re using our favorite chicken broth made by Aneto. Based in Barcelona Spain, Aneto makes their broths just like you make in your own kitchen: They select quality free-range chicken and the freshest vegetables – onions, carrots, leek, cabbage, celery – season it with sea salt and add everything to gigantic pots where they simmer it low and slow for several hours before pouring the broth into cartons to sell around the world.
No concentrates, powders, artificial ingredients, “natural flavors”, GMO’s, fillers or flavor enhancers of any kind. Just pure, whole, real ingredients. We love and highly recommend Aneto!
Aneto’s 100% Natural Premium Chicken Broth can be purchased here on Amazon or in select stores across the nation. Note, the broths are significantly cheaper on Amazon if you buy them in bulk (6-pack). Otherwise, for individual broths, they’re significantly cheaper in stores (check the store locator for your nearest location).
We had the opportunity to tour Aneto’s factory from top to bottom, watch the broth-making process from start to finish, and were absolutely blown away by the beauty and simplicity of how they create their broths.
In the world of broth manufacturers, Aneto is truly unique and their broth-making process is one of the most encouraging and inspiring things I’ve witnessed. Come read about it and take our virtual tour of the world’s most remarkable broth manufacturer.
Let’s get started!
For a wonderfully flavor-packed Scotch Broth, we’re going to use leek, carrots, onions, rutabagas, turnips and parsnips. Get those cleaned and diced.
Cook the onions and garlic in the oil in a heavy stock pot or Dutch oven until softened 4-6 minutes.
Cook the onions and garlic in the lard or butter until softened, 4-6 minutes. Add the lamb, herbs, barley, split peas and salt.
I tie my herbs with a bit of twine for easy removal later. That’s entirely optional.
Add the broth, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 2 hours. Skim off any foam.
Add the carrot, turnip, rutabaga and parsnip. Simmer for another hour.
Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Remove the meat, shred it and discard the bones.
Return the shredded meat to the pot along with the leek and cabbage. Simmer for another 30 minutes. Add salt to taste.
We like this soup on the thick side, almost a stew. If you prefer the soup a bit thinner, add some more broth.
Serve garnished with fresh chopped parsley.
Enjoy!
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Traditional Scotch Broth
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds lamb shoulder or shanks (or beef with bones)
- 2 tablespoons quality lard or butter
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup pearl barley
- 1/3 cup dried green split peas
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 cups quality chicken broth (I use and recommend Aneto)
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 1 turnip, peeled and diced
- 1 rutabaga, peeled and diced
- 1 parsnip, peeled and diced
- 1/2 cup shredded green cabbage
- 1 medium leek, chopped, rinsed and drained
- Fresh chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Cook the onions and garlic in the lard or butter until softened, 4-6 minutes. Add the lamb, herbs, barley, split peas, salt and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 2 hours. Skim off any foam.
- Add the carrot, turnip, rutabaga and parsnip. Simmer for another hour.
- Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Remove the meat, shred it and discard the bones. Return the shredded meat to the pot along with the leek and cabbage. Simmer for another 30 minutes. Add salt to taste. We like this soup on the thick side, almost a stew. If you prefer the soup a bit thinner, add some more broth.
- Serve garnished with fresh chopped parsley.
Thank you to Aneto for sponsoring this post and to my readers for supporting the brands who help make The Daring Gourmet possible!
Mommajo says
I make this soup after I’ve made a roast especially a leg of lamb. I save all the pan scrapings, bones and fat and simmer for about an hour with just an onion and the tops and bottoms if the celery stalks and cover with water. After that hour I strain it all and then basically pick up where your recipe starts. When the meat and bones have cooled enough to handle I cut the meat up so I can add it back after the veggies etc. are done. I love the fact that I can use the yummy pan scrapings and I can separate the fat before putting the broth back in. It’s a family favorite.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks for sharing, Mommajo!
Francine Paston says
My husband doesn’t like lamb so what kind of beef with bone should I use. Thank you for your help.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Francine, with a stew like this that simmers for a long time you’ll want to use an inexpensive tougher cut, so any stewing stewing beef (for example chuck roast). You may have a hard time finding stewing cuts with bones. Alternatively you can just get a few beef marrow bones from your local butcher. They’re usually relatively inexpensive (you don’t need much) and add a lot of flavor.
Francine Paston says
Thank you so much for your help. I can’t wait try the soup.
Morag says
Buy boiling beef. It’s on the bone and delicious. In Scotland you can buy it in any butcher‘s (it’s the traditional stock base for Scotch Broth). Also if using boiling beef you’re starting from scratch so no need to use pre-made stock! Delicious! If you’re putting it in a thermos flask for lunches and don’t want chunky vegetables zip it through your blender (removing the boiling beef first). I made a big pot last night… yum!
Carmen says
This was WONDERFUL! The flavor is so rich and delicious. Everyone loved it, this will definitely become part of our regular rotation.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Carmen, I’m so happy to hear that, thank you!
Nat says
Your recipe looks fine, but I totally disagree on the label “pot au feu”. Pot au feu is neither a soup nor a stew. Chunks of meat are cooked with chunks of root vegetables and – when done – served with condiments separately from the broth, which might well be reserved for soup the next day.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Nat, no one has implied the two dishes share the same method. Here’s what I said at the beginning of my blog post:
“In her 1856 cookbook, Cook and Housewife’s Manual, Margaret Dods referred to Scotch Broth as the ‘Pot au Feu of Scotland.’ Pot au Feu has been referred to as ‘the quintessence of French family cuisine [and] the most celebrated dish in France’ so in like manner is reflective of the important place that Scotch Broth has taken at the Scottish family table for centuries.”
RonaUSA says
A proper Scotch broth is like a pot au feu as Meg Dods said. In my family and my husband’s, the soup – not as thick as this – is served as the first course, then the meat which has cooked with it and the larger pieces of vegetables are served as the second.
The Scots would never use both chicken stock and the lamb or beef; when I was a child, you wouldn’t have both because chickens were a once-a-week treat and the carcass was used to make a stock for cock-a-leekie. Never come across turnip – presumably the white one – in a Scotch broth. I say presumably because what in Scotland is called a turnip (or neep) is called a rutabaga in USA.
When I moved to America I was taken aback to find that what is here called “broth” is what we in UK call stock.
Judith says
I fell in love with Scotch Broth as a kid making my own lunch of Campbell’s soup ! I don’t know what made me want to make it, but I’m glad I did. Still a favorite.
NoniB says
Because I didn’t have a turnip, I doubled the celery; also like mine really thick, so doubled the barley. Seasoned with a little garlic, salt, pepper, Thai basil, and lemon sage, the latter two dried, harvested from my garden and ground up with my little volcanic rock molcajete and tejolote. The family dog has hung out by the kitchen door all day; he lives in hope.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, NoniB! Happy eating and if you end up feeling charitable, I hope your dog enjoys it too! :)
June says
No onions for dogs
Ioana Croteau says
This looks great. I appreciate the authenticity of your recipes and that they are all made from “scratch” with good quality ingredients. I would like to modify this to be gluten free, so obviously will have to omit the barley. Is there a substitution you can suggest?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Ioana :) There are quite a few gluten-free grains you could choose from (buckwheat, quinoa, millet, sorghum, rice, etc) but one that is traditionally very Scottish and would work well in this soup is steel-cut oats. They have a long cooking time, which is perfect, and thicken up nicely. Their flavor will also complement the soup well.
Sarah says
Made this exactly as stated but decided I don’t like lamb although my other half being Scottish loved it. Can I use exactly the same method using a ham hock.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Sarah, yes, lamb definitely has a distinct flavor. I’m happy to hear your other half loved it :) Yes, you can ham hock. Or beef.
Anonymous says
Absolutely love the recipe. Was distraught to read your method of measuring the ingredients. How does one measure 0.33 Tbsp. of butter or 0.33 Bay leaves? The whole thing is really absurd and it has caused me not to even attempt it. Would have been better to have someone translate it to tbsp. tsp. cups, ozs. & lbs.
Ron says
Are you by chance disabled? Get a grip
Crystal L Lefevers says
Ron, you disappoint me. Not everyone knows how to deal with recipes, as this comment shows. Don’t be insulting, just show how it works. ( if you think being disabled is an insult, you really need to relearn some stuff)
For example, Anon, if I wanted to measure out one third tablespoon of butter, I’d get out my 1/2 tablespoon measure and short it just a bit; say, scrape off just a bit lower that the top of the measure. And if a recipe calls for a third of a bay leaf, I’d do one of two things. Either I’d break a bay leaf into somewhat thirds, or I’d just add a whole bay leaf, and see if it tasted good. The only way you can cut a bay leaf into exact
thirds, is by exacto knife, and that sounds like too much trouble to me.
Jayce Fagan says
I quadruple the receipe and have had this soup without the barley. I added a cup of chick peas and a cup of black beans and have had soup for a few days to help
Me with my diet. I added Mexican chilli to give it a oomph.
Joyce says
Crystal, when you do not know the equivalent measure for something refer to one of your cookbooks (most have a chart) or google it. FYI 1 tablespoon = 3 tsp
Joyce
The Marianne says
Thank you very much for keeping this recipe authentic. My mom has made Scotch broth since I was a kid, and I have a slow cooker-full cooking at home right now, which will be ready for me when I get home from work. I love that you used red lentils and split peas, and some Scottish root vegetables. I was raised on the barley only, in Scotch broth, with celery and carrots, diced up.
Drives me crazy when people add tomatoes, pasta and such and comment on Scotch broth recipes, when they have really made lamb vegetable soup. Scotch broth is exactly what and how you have described it and it is perfect!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Marianne!
Joe says
Hmmmm… “Cook Time 105 d 15 hrs”!?
Weeeeellllll now, I do allow tis a proper long slow simmer! ;^)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Haha! WOW, that is quite the typo, isn’t it! Well for that length of time it had better be worth the wait! ;)
Alfredia says
I’ve made this recipe twice. I substituted lentils for split peas. I used quick cooking barley as I couldn’t find pearl barley. It is excellent!! Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m thrilled to hear that, Alfredia, thanks for the feedback!
Gregory Buchanan says
Absolutely wonderful — cold here in Wisconsin and this soup was a perfect treat. Only thing I did differently was to make a lamb stock out of bones and scraps I had in the freezer. Oh, and I made a couple of gallons of it to freeze (I should have been an army cook).
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Lol, Gregory! I’m so glad you enjoyed this and appreciate the feedback, thank you!