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are very soft. Process most of the soup, leaving some chunks. You can do this in a food processor or blender in batches, or you can use an immersion blender and process the soup directly in the pot. Return the meat to the pot. Reheat if necessary.

Serves 6–8

This is arguably one of the most delicious soups ever created, but don't follow the original recipe from the 1700s. It called for boiling a chicken with celery and marigolds. Even though the marigold would probably give it a nice color, it wouldn't suit the modern palate.

Scotch Broth

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 pound chuck eye roast, chuck steak, or lamb, cut into ½-inch cubes

1 large onion, finely chopped

4 14-ounce cans chicken broth

½ cup pearl barley

1 tablespoon salt, or more to taste

4 carrots, chopped into ¼-inch dice

1 large turnip, chopped into ¼-inch dice

1 leek, chopped

3 celery ribs, chopped into ¼-inch dice

4 cloves garlic, minced

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup shredded green cabbage

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a Dutch oven or wide pot and add the meat in batches, searing on both sides over high heat 4 to 5 minutes until crusty brown and transferring each batch to a large plate. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the skillet. Add the chopped onion and cook over medium-low heat until softened, scraping up the fond (the browned bits) from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon.

Add the broth, barley, meat with its accumulated juices, and salt to the pot and stir to combine. The barley will absorb a lot of the salt, so it's a good idea to taste the soup again later and adjust the salt. Simmer for 1½ hours.

Add the carrots, turnip, leek, celery, garlic, and black pepper and simmer another hour. Then add the cabbage and parsley and simmer another 30 minutes.

Serves 8

Cock fighting is a cruel and abhorrent sport, but like it or not, it did take place in days of old (unfortunately also today in some parts of the world). After a fight, the Scots took the dead cock (another word for rooster) and served it up to the sports lovers in a soup made with leeks, barley, and most unusual, prunes. This version includes rice but leaves out the prunes to create a full meal in one dish. If you want a more authentic dish, leave out the rice and add 2 cups pitted prunes to the soup a ½ hour before it finishes cooking.

Cock-a-Leekie

2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

6 chicken thighs, rinsed and patted dry

1 medium onion, chopped

1 pound leeks, washed and cut into ½-inch pieces

6 cups water

½ cup long-grain white rice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a wide pot. Add 3 of the chicken thighs, skin-side down, and cook on both sides until they are golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a large plate. Pour out the fat, wipe out the pot, and add another teaspoon of oil. Repeat for the remaining 3 pieces of chicken.

Pour out the rest of the fat, wipe out the pot, and heat the remaining tablespoon oil. Add the onions and cook until they are translucent, scraping up the fond (browned bits) from the bottom of the pot, about 5 minutes. Add the leeks and cook, stirring frequently, for another 5 minutes.

Add the water, rice, and chicken. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 1 hour, until the chicken is tender. The rice will be completely soft and almost melted into the soup.

Remove the chicken from the soup. Using a wide spoon such as a serving spoon, skim the fat off the top of the soup. Remove the chicken meat from the skin and bones and chop into bite-size pieces; then return it to the soup. Season the soup with the salt and pepper.

Serves 8

The name says it all. This soup was one of Queen Victoria's favorites, and this recipe is derived from one used by Charles Elmé Francatelli, chief chef to Queen Victoria from 1841 to 1842.

Queen Victoria's Soup

1 cup water

¼ cup pearl barley

6 cups chicken stock

1 cup heavy cream

Salt and white pepper to taste

Bring the water to a boil in a heavy