Cock-a-Leekie

Serving Size : 8

2 kg boiling fowl (4 lb 8 oz)
10 large leeks, washed and trimmed
1 onion, peeled and studded with cloves
Water
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme
2 stalks fresh parsley
6 peppercorns
Salt, to taste
24 prunes, stoned and dried
3 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped, to garnish

Wash the chicken and pat it dry with kitchen paper. Slice the leeks into 6
mm (1/4 in) slices, keeping at least 2 1/2 cm (1 in) of the green part. Put
the prepared onion inside the bird. Put half of the leeks into a large
casserole and put the chicken on top. Add cold water to cover the chicken and
bring to the boil; skim away the scum from the surface and reduce the heat to a
gentle simmer. Add the herbs and peppercorns, cover the pan and allow to
simmer gently for two hours, or until the bird is cooked. Top up with
water as necessary to keep the bird just covered.
When cooked, remove the bird and let it cool enough to handle. Discard the
herbs and peppercorns and skim off as much fat from the broth as you can.
Season with salt, if needed. Cut the meat into small pieces and return to
the broth, taking care to avoid any skin or bone. Add the prunes and simmer
for five minutes.
Blanch the remaining leeks by plunging them into boiling water and cooking
for a few minutes, then refresh them in cold water and drain them. This
just cooks them and they keep their lovely bright colour. Just before serving,
add them to the broth to heat through.
I like this method as it gives you two textures of leek, one is well-cooked
with little colour, the other has bite and colour. Serve each bowl of
broth with three prunes and sprinkle some chopped parsley on top.

Source: "fresh magazine"

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 141 Calories; 1g Fat (3.7% calories
from fat); 3g Protein; 34g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol;
33mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 3 1/2 Vegetable; 1 Fruit; 0 Fat.

NOTES : A traditional soup using everything available to a farmstead,
although I'm not sure where the prunes will have crept in! They do,
however, add a touch of sweetness and, if the bird was old, which it most certainty
would have been, then the sweetness of the prunes would have given the
soup a real lift. The leeks may also have been bitter and would, likewise,
benefit from the addition of prunes. A whole bird will make enough soup
for eight people. It really is a meal in itself and, for the original
crofters, it would have represented quite an impressive feast

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