I was shocked I say, I was shocked, I searched and you had no cock a leekie soup recipes.

In Scotland they are called "boiling Fowl" to be non sexist, they were also worn under the kilt for lunch. This created the well known myth!

As a gentleman of some antiquity, roughly the same age as Talleyrand, I think I may safely say, Nancy and Max you have sinned, the evidence is you actually added chicken broth to cock a leekie soup. Cock a leekie soup is not chicken and leek soup, if it were it would be called chicken and leek soup. The recipe requires a cock or a hen, preferably one that ha s stopped laying. The hen is placed in a large pot covered with water and produces a superb broth, because it is old and flavourful. Those foolish recipes that are made with chicken pieces are made by people who have never made this dish. There is a good recipe in Marion Macneils the Scots Kitchen, which I loaned to an ex"friend" who despite my bookplate explicitly saying "if this book is not returned to its rightful owner you will be cursed through all eternity" thought it was such a good book was willing to risk it.

Sour cream and brown sugar in cock-a-leekie?? Has the world gone mad?

I am texting my Scottish pal right now for more info, I have never heard of this thing!!!

INGREDIENTS

2 cups finely diced raw potatoes
4 tablespoons butter
6 leeks, cleaned and cut into 1 inch pieces
3 cups chicken bouillon................................chicken
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshy ground black pepper
a dash of nutmeg
11/2 to 2 cups sour cream or heavy cream
Chopped chives

One whole chicken or several pieces of uncooked and boned wings, legs or quarters ..........chicken
400g of leeks
100g of precooked prunes that have had their stones removed
25g of rice
2 litres of water or soup stock
One teaspoon of brown sugar
Seasoning of salt and pepper, one bay leaf and some thyme
Parsley for the garnish

Optional ingredients: Three rashers of chopped streaky bacon

Prunes in whisky? never even thought about it. Barley always in the soup. Many thanks to all who responded. Nancy your mention brought a lot of thing back so am on my way. The Talleyrand thingy means he was the first to put it in writing. Susan, these memories are nice aren't they, nice was a carefully selected word. Alas Max Vichyssoise just doesn't do it, cock a leekie is not chicken soup. Although Vichyssoise a la ecossais might do it, sorry about the misplaces accent it was misplaced.

I always put chopped prunes in mine (soaked first in whiskey), but also barley.

Vichyssoise, just heat,=cock a leekie. Lang may yer lum reekie.

A Scottish friend of mine makes her mom's version which I had in Scotland while visiting her. It was a simple chicken soup made with one of her "old hens" (aka no longer laying hen), leeks, celery, carrot and a julienne of prunes added as a garnish. She sometimes adds wild rice or potatoes. I can't remember if her mom did. It reminds me of a cold day in Edinburgh sitting in front of a huge stone fireplace.

Best Hotline thread in a long time. ;o)

Dear Louis,
Please try this restorative recipe from a Glasgow restaurant.
http://britishfood.about.com/od/starte2/r/cockleekie.htm
That'll get your strength up.
Then get somebody in the police force to search for more recipes or teach you more search skills.
Gotta get back to the cafe.
Your buddy, Rick


p.s. Apparently the prunes addition was suggested by no less than Talleyrand, 1754-1838. So it doesn't have Kenneth-MacAlpin-era provenance, but it's plenty old.