Chef Thomas
A Proper Chicken Broth
Sunday's roast chicken, simmered slowly on Monday with carrots, celery, leeks, and thyme into a bowl of clear, golden broth that smells like the kitchen is paying attention.
Culinary Explorer
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Hotchpotch
Created by Chef Thomas
A Scottish summer broth of lamb and young garden vegetables, bright with peas and broad beans and shredded lettuce, the kind of soup that proves the best broths are made in July, not January.
Soups & Stews
British
Weeknight
30 min
Active Time
1 hr 30 min cook•2 hr total
Yield6 servings
The peas came in this week. That's the signal. When the first proper peas are fat enough to pod, and the broad beans are tender enough that you don't resent the skinning, and the lettuce in the garden is growing faster than you can eat it, then it's time for hotchpotch.
This is Scotland's summer soup, and it wrong-foots people who think all British broths belong to winter. It's light, clean, and green, built on a quiet lamb stock and then filled with whatever the garden is offering at its most generous. Young turnips. Small carrots. A cauliflower. Peas and broad beans go in near the end so they stay bright. The lettuce, shredded and stirred through at the last moment, wilts into something silky and sweet. It tastes like June in a bowl.
The trick, if there is one, is restraint. The vegetables go in at different stages so nothing overcooks. The broth stays clear and delicate, not muddy with hours of boiling. You want to taste each thing separately, the sweetness of the peas, the earthiness of the turnip, the lamb quiet and tender underneath. This isn't a stew. It's a broth with ambitions.
I wrote it down in the notebook years ago, the first time I made it from the garden alone: lamb, peas, beans, lettuce, long evening. I've made it every summer since. The market decides what goes in, but the shape of it never changes. Right food, right evening.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
lamb neck
Quantity
600g, bone in
cut into pieces by the butcher
cold water
Quantity
1.5 litres
fine sea salt
Quantity
to taste
spring onions
Quantity
6 young
sliced
young turnips
Quantity
2 small
diced
young carrots
Quantity
2
diced
cauliflower
Quantity
1 small
broken into small florets
fresh peas
Quantity
200g podded (about 500g in the pod)
fresh broad beans
Quantity
200g podded and skinned (about 600g in the pod)
lettuce
Quantity
1 small (Little Gem or butterhead)
shredded
fresh parsley
Quantity
a generous handful
chopped
white pepper
Quantity
to taste
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| lamb neckcut into pieces by the butcher | 600g, bone in |
| cold water | 1.5 litres |
| fine sea salt | to taste |
| spring onionssliced | 6 young |
| young turnipsdiced | 2 small |
| young carrotsdiced | 2 |
| cauliflowerbroken into small florets | 1 small |
| fresh peas | 200g podded (about 500g in the pod) |
| fresh broad beans | 200g podded and skinned (about 600g in the pod) |
| lettuceshredded | 1 small (Little Gem or butterhead) |
| fresh parsleychopped | a generous handful |
| white pepper | to taste |
Equipment Needed
- •Large heavy-bottomed stockpot or saucepan
- •Slotted spoon for skimming
- •Ladle
Instructions
- 1
Start the lamb broth
Put the lamb neck into a large, heavy pot and cover with the cold water. Set it over a moderate heat and bring to a slow simmer. Don't rush it. As it heats, a grey scum will rise to the surface. Skim it off with a spoon and keep skimming until the broth runs more or less clear. Add a good pinch of salt. Turn the heat down so the surface barely trembles, a few lazy bubbles, no more, and let it cook gently for forty-five minutes to an hour. The lamb should be tender but still holding its shape.
Starting with cold water and bringing it up slowly draws out a cleaner, more delicate broth. A rolling boil makes it cloudy and coarse. Patience here is the whole foundation. - 2
Add the root vegetables
Lift the lamb out and set it aside on a plate. If any fat has gathered on the surface of the broth, skim most of it away, though a little is good for flavour. Add the spring onions, turnips, and carrots to the pot. Bring it back to a gentle simmer and cook for ten minutes or so, until the roots are just starting to soften but still have a bit of backbone. The broth should smell sweet and clean, like a garden after rain.
- 3
Add cauliflower and beans
Add the cauliflower florets and the skinned broad beans. Give them five minutes at the same gentle pace. While they cook, pull the lamb from the bones if you haven't already. Tear it into rough pieces, nothing too tidy, and discard the bones and any gristle. Return the meat to the pot.
Skinning broad beans is a small chore that repays you completely. The skins are bitter and tough. The beans underneath are bright green and sweet and tender. Pinch each one between finger and thumb and slip it from its jacket. - 4
Finish with peas and lettuce
Add the peas and the shredded lettuce. They need only two or three minutes, barely enough for the peas to turn bright and the lettuce to wilt into the broth. Stir in the chopped parsley. Season with salt and white pepper. Taste it. If it needs anything at all, it will be more salt. Ladle into warm bowls, making sure everyone gets a fair share of lamb, vegetables, and broth. Serve with good bread.
Chef Tips
- •This is a summer dish. It only makes sense when the vegetables are young and fresh and still taste of something. Frozen peas in February won't give you the same soup, and there's no point pretending otherwise. Wait for the season.
- •Ask your butcher for lamb neck on the bone. It gives a sweeter, more rounded broth than anything else, and the meat pulls apart into soft, ragged pieces that belong in a bowl of soup. Shoulder works too, but neck is traditional and right.
- •Don't be tempted to add stock cubes or anything else to the broth. The lamb, the salt, and the vegetables are enough. Hotchpotch is about clarity, not depth. You're tasting the garden, not a flavour enhancer.
- •The lettuce sounds odd if you haven't tried it. Trust the recipe. Little Gem or butterhead, shredded and barely wilted, turns silky in the hot broth and adds a sweetness that ties everything together. It's the quiet ingredient that makes the whole bowl work.
Advance Preparation
- •The lamb broth can be made a day ahead and refrigerated. Any fat will solidify on the surface and lift off easily. Reheat gently and add the vegetables in stages when you're ready to serve.
- •Pod the peas and skin the broad beans in advance if you like. They'll keep in the fridge for a day, covered. The podding is the kind of quiet kitchen work that goes well with the radio.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 490g)
Calories
260 calories
Total Fat
13 g
Saturated Fat
6 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
7 g
Cholesterol
45 mg
Sodium
690 mg
Total Carbohydrates
19 g
Dietary Fiber
7 g
Sugars
7 g
Protein
17 g
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