Growing up in Scotland in the 1960s and early 70s, there were two types of soup served at every Scottish table: Lentil Soup and Scotch Broth. There are as many variations of both lentil soup and Scotch Broth as there are cooks in Scotland, I like my soup so that ‘your spoon can stand up in it’, as my Dad would say, thick and unctuous, I know others prefer a lighter broth.
How this Scot makes Scotch Broth
I generally make these soups without a recipe, throwing in whatever vegetables are in my fridge, however today I thought I would take more care, note the quantities and share with you how this Scots woman makes Scotch Broth.
Scotch Broth Mix
Let’s start with the ingredients, as you can see they are fairly simple. You can buy broth mix for Scotch Broth in most supermarkets, the pack I used contained 55% Pearly Barley, 18% Yellow Split peas, 9% Green Split Peas, 9% Blue Peas and 9% Red Split Lentils. Blue peas are the same peas used for Green Split peas, but whole and with the skin left on. I would recommend soaking the broth mix overnight in lots of cold water although, if you forget, you can boil them in some water for 20 minutes then leave to soak for two hours before starting your soup.
Onion, carrots, and celery
A large onion is essential, as are the carrots, celery is always fabulous in soup but if you don’t have any then you can still make Scotch Broth without it. I’m not a purist, the recipe I’m giving is the one I usually make, however, you can add other root vegetables if you wish, turnip, swede, parsnip will all work well.
Kale
is a very traditional ingredient for Scotch Broth and should be added at the end of cooking so it retains its bright green colour and all the nutrients. If you don’t have any kale, then spinach or parsley will add that lift of colour, again you can serve the soup without the greenery but it does add to the flavour.
You don’t need to peel carrots for soup, just wash them and top and tail, then quarter the carrots lengthways and dice.
As you can see I make a LOT of soup, my pot of soup will serve 8-10 hearty portions, so I make it in my pressure cooker. If you don’t have a pressure cooker then you can make it in a large soup or stock pan, or you can half the ingredients and use a smaller pan. It is worth making a large quantity, as you can keep some in the fridge for workday lunches or freeze it for another day.
If I was truly sticking with tradition then the stock should be made with neck of mutton or lamb, some people swear by beef skirt or even chicken, but I’m keeping this recipe vegetarian and using vegetable stock cubes.
A traditional Scottish soup made with vegetables and grains. It's thick, filling and delicious.
- 200 g broth mix soaked overnight in plenty of cold water
- 500 g carrots diced
- 1 large onion roughly chopped
- 2 sticks celery diced
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2.5 litres vegetable stock
- 200 g chopped kale
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
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Heat the oil in a large pan or pressure cooker.
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Add the onions and saute on a medium heat for 2-3 minutes
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Add the celery and carrots and saute them with the onion for a further 3-4 minutes.
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Add the broth mix and stock, season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
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If using a pressure cooker, cook on low pressure for 25 minutes.
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If cooking without pressure, simmer gently for approximately 40 minutes or until the grains and pulses are soft.
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Add the kale and leave to cook in the residual heat of the soup for at least 10 minutes before serving.
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Check seasoning and adjust as required.
Serve with wholemeal bread, bannocks or oatcakes.
If you don't have any kale, you can add other green leaves or chopped parsley. The soup can also be served without greenery. Any root vegetables can be added to this soup and any type of stock can be used.
I’m entering my Scotch Broth for Super Soup the soup linky run by Jo’s Kitchen
Also for No Croutons Required, the January edition is being hosted by Lisa at Lisa’s Kitchen next month it will be with Jacqueline at Tinned Tomatoes.
Here are some more delicious soup recipes from my farmhouse kitchen:
Spicy Moroccan Kale and Rice Soup
Looks very hearty, probably just as good in wet and cold Welsh weather
I live in Scotland and make scotch broth with all your pulses but just use diced carrot and turnip and grated carrot to thicken .No onion No celery No kale! And use boiling beef
Forgot to add ,Use a leek as well
That sounds delicious Eliza, as I said there are as many recipes as there are Scots!
Is this blog still active? I am about to make your recipe of “Scotch Broth.” Already made beef stock, but wondering if the Scotch people add small chopped pieces of beef(or chicken) as in our American canned soup by “Campbell’s” (scotch-broth.)
(Also, a reply is written by ‘Eliza Bradley’…interesting, perhaps a common name in Scotland – my great great grandmother’s name was Eliza(Elizabeth) Bradley, orphan arriving in America, 1845, know everything about her wonderful life in America, but keep trying to find out about her parents -Scotch Irish.)
Thank you for any response on above, Constance of California.
Hi Constance, yes Farmersgirl Kitchen is very much an active site, although I’m taking a bit of a break from new posts over the Holidays. Scotch Broth can have small pieces of meat in it, the version here is a vegetarian one but the original would have been made with mutton and probably would have contained pieces of meat. In terms of your family tree enquiry, if Eliza Bradley has opted to follow the comments in this post then she may pick up this reply, but not everyone does. Information on Scottish family history can be researched via The National… Read more »
Delicious! It is very similar to the Russian pearl barley soup, only without lentils and kale. In winter you can add a chopped gherkin to the soup.
Thanks Galina. I think every country will have a similar soup, very much peasant food and none the worse for that!
This looks like a perfect winter comforting meal..hunks of bread with salted butter alongside! YUM.
Scotch broth is one of my favourite soups EVER and shame on me for never having made it! True I am used to it with a small amount of lamb in it – since our girls have asked that we abstain from eating lamb, in any shape or form, I will make this veggie version. Thank you for reminding me what a great soup this is. Sammie.
It is lovely made with meat, but quicker and easier to make a veggie version, obviously also more acceptable to your girls too.
I love hearty soups! Pearl barley is such a good addition to soups, especially at this time of the year.
Thanks Sus, pearl barley is a great grain.
I love scotch broth. One of my favourites. Your tartan looks very much like a Maclean one. Is it?
Gosh I have no idea Ali, it’s a piece of material that I used to make a tablecloth! Thanks for your kind comment about the Scotch Broth.
This looks delicious and perfect for the cold weather we are having. Thank you for entering #SuperSoup
I love a good Scotch broth and used to make it loads with neck of lamb. Need to get making this in my Teermocook next, such a good hearty soup!
ooooh YES!!! Good to get an authentic recipe from an authentic Scot. This does look good and The Viking would adore it!
Thanks Dom, it’s a great soup for the weekend as a hunk of bread makes it a meal! I’ll be over to see your authentic millionaires truffles from authentic millionaires lol!
Your Scotch broth sounds absolutely wonderful. It’s been years since I had any. My aunt used to make it a lot, but she wasn’t Scottish. Bookmarked.
Nice to be reminded of those favourites. I’m sure this or something similar is made by most cultures and remember we celts of Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Cornwall and Brittany are all related 😉
Oh my. I love hearty soups like this one. Thanks for sharing with NCR.
Oh yum!! I’ve just been trolling the web looking for something to make for supper. This is the winner. I don’t have a scotch mix but I believe I have most of the ingredients in my cupboard. I’m also going to forward this recipe to a good friend who is mostly vegetarian and loves everything scottish. Thank you for the recipe.
That’s lovely Holly, I’m so pleased that the recipe is what you were looking for.
Hi this looks so good but I’m in a house hold of 4 growing sons, how would you cook the beef skirt please?
Sorry that was worded badly lol, the recipe looks awesome, but my 4 growing sons are meat lovers. How would I cook the beef skirt to go in the broth? Can’t wait to batch cook this. Will be amazing on the cold nights to come.
Hi Kim, no problem. I would brown the beef skirt in a little oil then continue with the recipe. Once the soup is cooked, take out the meat, shred and return to the pot.
If you don’t want to cook the meat in the soup then simply add leftover beef from a roast or stew and the end of cooking. Enjoy!
Thank you for your help look forward to feeding my tribe this on a cold snuggley night.
You are welcome Kim
This looks wonderful, especially since it’s snowing where I live. I’ll have to scout for a similar mix in my rural midwest grocery store! Thanks for sharing.
thanks Niki, definitely soup weather!
I’m so glad I saw this flashing on your homepage, Janice. This soup reminds me so much of when I was growing up in Scotland and had this often. It’s very special. And it’s high time I made it for my family in France – I can’t believe I’ve never made it for them, so your recipe is much appreciated! Wonderful x
Yes, Scotch Broth or Lentil Soup were on everyone’s table Jill. It’s by far my most popular recipe!
I live in America and would love to make this; any suggestions on where to find the broth mix, or substitutions? Thank you!
I’ll check that out and see if I can find a source for you.
Thank you!
I’ve looked all over for this and asked some US bloggers too. I’m afraid the Broth mix is not available for purchase in the states, all you could do is try to recreate it yourself. As I say in the recipe “the pack I used contained 55% Pearly Barley, 18% Yellow Split peas, 9% Green Split Peas, 9% Blue Peas and 9% Red Split Lentils. Blue peas are the same peas used for Green Split peas, but whole and with the skin left on.” Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.
Thank you so much for trying, I really appreciate it! I’m going to try it with the ratio you used, I’ll let you know how it turns out!
I’d love to know how you get on, so please do come back and let me know.
In the USA would buy the manichevitz soup mix – the “mushroom” one which comes in a cellophane long “envelope” and not use the flavoring and add more barley and a bit of red lentil. There is another brand that makes a dry soup mix “envelope” that is similar, but I can not remember the name. I find them in stop and shop supermarkets and in ocean state job lot (cheaper there) and stock up. I would also use the lamb and leek….but to each his own! It’s a great soup, and works well in the slow cooker, too.
Thank you, Constance. I haven’t heard of that.
Hmmm yummy… I am Asian… we have this kind of broth too but we usually use rice instead of pulses…
I sometimes use rice too, especially in a chicken broth.
I make this delicious soup also with celeriac. How much u take is taste.
And fresh bacon.
It is Scottich broth at the Dutch way.
Have a good meal!
Indeed, this soup is one that accepts all vegetables and I love celeriac
My husband is a scot and where he came from in Angus they use also kale in a scotch broth and it is very common. I love the soup very comforting.
It’s one of those soups where you can add whatever you like, kale is a traditional ingredient.
I put a ham Hough in mine or ham ribs,still can’t make it like my gran though
Everyone and everyone’s granny has their own recipe, I think that’s the joy of traditional recipes, don’t you?
Hello, how many onions does this recipe require? They’re currently missing from the ingredients list but included in the method. Looks lovely!
Apologies for that, just one onion required.
I’m making a giant pot of this (My Mum-in-law brings us bags of Scotch Broth mix over here to Texas and we had 2 bags expiring soon!). I went by your recipe, but used chicken broth as it’s what we had… I soaked my broth mix overnight and it’s been cooking for well over what you suggest and the peas from the mix are still kinda crunchy! I’m afraid if I cook it much longer, then barley will turn to complete mush. Do ya have any suggestions for the future? Should I soak the broth mix even longer next time?… Read more »
Hi Renee
I soak the broth mix overnight, so I don’t think that is the problem. You should be able to cook the soup for up to an hour and a half without any ill effects. Different broth mixes may behave slightly differently, so that may be what is happening.
Hello, and thank you for your posting about this wonderful soup. I had it long a go when I was a child (From Campbell’s) and have never forgotten how much I enjoyed it. I have been researching how to make it, but wanted to keep it as traditional as possible. Your notes and recipe have been very helpful in that, and I am grateful. I will be attempting this sooner rather than later; mutton is unavailable here in Montana, and so is lamb neck, so I will be attempting this with lamb shanks, which I hope will work well. Many… Read more »
Thank you, Ron. I’m so glad the recipe has helped you and I’m sure the lamb shanks will add a lovely flavour to the soup.
Lamb shank was the usual meat in my part old South Glasgow. Just one, no matter how many were eating the broth. Fascinating how personal such recipes are. I learned broth in Glasgow in 1970 from my neighbours who all used the same recipe and woe betide anyone who didn’t – though they would refer scathingly to others who did something different. You’d see a procession in the mornings pushing the prams first to the grain store – wonderful lost institutions – for a few ounces of “soup mix”, then too the butcher for a lamb shank – a trayful… Read more »
Ooh lamb shank would be delicious