Traditional Scotch Broth Recipe!

My Grampas soup has always been my favourite which I suspect may be somewhat comical among the family as it’s just a traditional Scotch broth. Which yes, is a very traditional Scottish soup by all means BUT my Grampa is a great cook and his Scotch broth soup recipe is, naturally, the best. In my humble opinion!

Personally, when it comes to Scotch broth ingredients, I like to use onion, swede, carrots and the optional potatoes in mine but I think if you are learning how to make an easy Scotch broth recipe from scratch then you can opt to use any root vegetables that you like, to make a good hearty Scottish soup.

Have some fun trying new things, see what works and doesn’t work to make the best Scotch broth recipe for you! This recipe is a vegetarian Scotch broth but if you are looking to further the flavour you can always use some leftover lamb bones to create a nice Scotch broth stock.

After cooking, I like to season with some salt, freshly ground black pepper and a garnish of chopped parsley for some added colour before serving with some warm crusty bread.

Overview

Makes: 4-6 Servings
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 60 mins
Total time: 1 hour 10 mins

Ingredients

• Scotch broth mix
  (pearl barley, red split lentils, yellow split peas and green split peas)
• 2 vegetable stock cubes
• 3 medium size potatoes
• 2 carrots
• 1 onion
• 1/2 swede
• salt
• pepper

Instructions

1. Measure 100g Scotch broth mix or mixed lentils/barley of your choice and soak in 500ml cold water for 8-12 hours.I like to use a measuring jug for this to save on any unnecessary faff or extra cleaning!After the allocated time spent soaking (I usually leave this overnight), drain and rinse again with cold water.
2. Peel, chop and dice vegetables before adding to your pan along with your Scotch broth mix.
3. Dissolve 1 vegetable stock cube in 500ml boiling water and add to the pan along with 2 pints of cold water and bring to the boil.After around 10 minutes, I would suggest a taste test of this as you may wish to dissolve and add another stock cube with a further 500ml water or if you are happy with the taste, simply add the 500ml water to your mix.
4. Once all of the water has been added, gently lower the heat to a simmer, place the lid over the soup and leave for approximately 1 hour.Occasionally check on progress and stir.
5. Add salt and pepper for seasoning and leave to stand for a further 5-10 minutes in its own heat before serving.

Storage

Old butter or takeaway tubs are great for storing quantities and each container can usually hold a portion big enough for two servings.

For those of us who do not have the extra space and usually look to keep our leftovers in the fridge, lock these in an airtight container and eat within 4-5 days.

If you have more space available, I would highly recommend that you make a big batch of this healthy vegetable soup and stick some in the freezer!

I know that this is not an option for everyone but for those that can, soup can be kept for 4-6 months in the freezer and defrosted when required.

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