A Scottish classic, this Cock a Leekie Soup (or chicken and leek soup) is filled with juicy, roasted chicken, aromatic leeks and tender rice all wrapped in flavorful chicken stock. Ready in under 30 minutes, this chicken soup recipe is light on both your waistline and your pocketbook – a “win-win” situation in my book!
Scotland is known for a number of things – great whiskey, gorgeous scenery and of course, men in kilts! What it’s not known for, is it’s cuisine. Traditional Scottish food is simple and basic like this Cock a Leekie Soup – but don’t let that description fool you! Simple and basic doesn’t mean flavorless!
This classic chicken and leek soup is absolutely delicious and the kind of soup I want when the weather is nasty outside, when I’m not feeling great or when I’ve had too many heavy and rich meals.
What you need to make Cock a Leekie Soup:
- homemade chicken stock
- fresh leeks
- roasted chicken
- rice
- fresh or dried thyme
- prunes (optional)
- butter
What are leeks?
- If you’ve never used leeks, this chicken and rice soup is a great introduction to this versatile vegetable!
- Leeks are a member of the Allium family, along with garlic, onions and shallots.
- With a mild, onion like flavor, leeks are delicious in soups, stews, added to vegetable dishes especially potatoes! You can also braise leeks and serve them as a side dish.
How do you Prepare Leeks:
Preparing leeks is easy with these tips!
- Rinse off the leeks and cut off the root end.
- Cut off the tough dark green leaves – but don’t through them away! Add a few large chunks to soups or stews with leeks to increase the flavor and then fish them out before serving.
- Split the leek down the center.
- Cut the leeks into whatever size slice your recipe calls for. I prefer my leeks cut into 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch slices but you can also slice the leeks lengthwise.
- Dump the sliced leeks into a bowl of water and swish around to dislodge any dirt – leeks can be very muddy and sandy!
- Remove from the water and blot dry or add to a salad spinner and spin dry. Then proceed with your recipe.
- Fresh leeks will last in the refrigerator from 5 days up to 2 weeks. To store, I wrap mine lightly in a paper towel in an open produce bag in the crisper section.
How to make this Chicken and Leek Soup:
Step #1: Clean and prep the leeks as instructed above. Heat the butter in a large dutch oven or soup pot and add the leeks. Season with salt and white pepper
Step #2: Add the thyme, chicken stock, and rice. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes or until the rice is tender. Add the roasted chicken and stir to combine. Heat for another 3 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings. Ladle the chicken and leek soup into bowls and garnish with the sliced prunes. Note: It may seem strange to garnish this soup with prunes but… trust me on this, the prunes add a wonderful earthy note of sweetness to the soup and complement the clear flavors of both the chicken and the chicken stock.
If you’re really feeling adventurous, soak the prunes in 1/2 tablespoon of good Scottish whiskey mixed with 1/2 tablespoon water before you start making Cock a Leekie soup!
Tips for Making the best Cock a Leekie Soup Ever!
This soup has minimal ingredients – so each ingredient REALLY counts! Normally, packaged chicken stocks are fine but if you are going to make this soup, use homemade chicken stock. This recipe from Serious Eats is great for using a pressure cooker.
In this Cock a Leekie Soup, I made chicken stock in my pressure cooker. Since I like a bit of a deeper flavor to my chicken stock, I brown the chicken pieces (wings and drumsticks) in my pressure cooker before I make the stock!
You can use dried thyme in this chicken and rice soup, but if you have fresh, please use it – it gives an amazing flavor to the soup!
Pepper – it’s worth using white pepper in this soup. White pepper isn’t as sharp as black pepper and you don’t see little flecks of black floating in your soup!
Now, you could make this Cock a Leekie soup the traditional way and simply stew the chicken in water and then remove the chicken, shred the meat and add it back.. using the braising water for your stock. But I prefer this method since roasted chicken has a nicer texture in this soup. Absolutely use a rotisserie chicken – this soup is a great way to use up the last remnants of a rotisserie chicken and you can freeze the bones to make stock!!!
Didn’t I say this was a win-win soup?
Other chicken soup recipes you might enjoy:
If you enjoyed this Cock a Leekie Soup Recipe, I would love for you to rate it! Thank you for visiting! Cheers!
Cock a Leekie Soup Recipe
Cock a Leekie Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 lb. leeks sliced lengthwise and then cut into 1/4 inch slices (about 2 large leeks)
- 10 sprigs fresh thyme
- 8 cups homemade chicken stock
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1/2 cup long grained white rice
- 2 cups shredded roasted chicken
- 1/3 cup slivered prunes
- 1 – 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice optional
Instructions
- In a large stockpot of dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the leeks and saute until the leeks are bright green. If the leeks are beginning to brown, reduce the heat. Add the thyme, chicken stock, salt, white pepper, rice and chicken. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes or until the rice is tender. Add the roasted chicken and prunes and cook for another 5 minutes. Taste the soup. You may need to add more salt, pepper or lemon juice. NOTE: Adding lemon juice isn’t traditional, but I find the little bit of acid really brightens the flavor of the soup so you may omit it if you wish.
What beautiful scenery. Thanks for the simple, tasty soup idea and the Scottish context.