Recipe: Not-So-Traditional Scotch Broth

I've never had an occasion to try Scotch Broth, but it is one of the dishes that connects the heroine of DANCING AT THE CHANCE with her Scottish heritage, so I added it to my family's Burns Night menu this year.

I wanted a traditional version, so I started with a recipe I found in "The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book," published in 1896. It calls for three pounds of mutton; a half-cup of barley; and a quarter-cup each of carrot, turnip, onion and celery; and salt and pepper.
Adjustments began almost immediately. At the supermarket, I found only leg of lamb and ground lamb. So instead of three pounds of mutton, I came home with a pound and a half leg of lamb.

I cut the meat into one-inch cubes, put it in a stock pot with the bone and six cups of water, brought it to a boil, then let it simmer, covered. The recipe didn't call for it, but I couldn't resist adding a bay leaf and a wire-mesh ball filled with five peppercorns, three whole allspice berries and a half-teaspoon of thyme to boost the flavor.

After an hour and a half, I removed the meat and set it aside, added the pearl barley, which had been soaking overnight, as well as two cups water and a cup each of chopped onion, carrot and celery. I left out the rutabaga, since I needed all that I had for the clapshot I was also making for dinner.

After a couple more hours of simmering, I checked on the pot and, I'll be honest, I wasn't thrilled with the gamey lamb smell.

I pulled out the bone, cut up the white and light green parts of three leeks I found in the fridge, sautéed them in butter, and added them to the pot. I simmered for another hour and was much happier with the aroma and the taste.

I took out the wire-mesh ball with the seasonings and returned the cooked meat to the pot about ten minutes before we served.

In the end, the soup made for a nice addition to the Burns Night menu, which this year included a veggie haggis (and the requisite reading of Burns' Address to a Haggis), a creamy clapshot and the traditional whisky toast.

THE CAMERON FAMILY'S NOT-SO-TRADITIONAL SCOTCH BROTH

1 1/2 pounds lamb leg
Bay leaf
5 peppercorns
3 whole allspice
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 cup pearl barley, soaked overnight
1 cup onion
1 cup chopped carrot
1 cup celery
2 tablespoons butter
3 leeks, white and light green parts chopped

Cut the meat into 1-inch cubes and place in a pot with the bone, 8 cups of water and a bay leaf. Place the peppercorns, allspice and thyme to a wire-mesh ball or cheesecloth satchel and add that to the pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer covered for 1 1/2 hours, skimming away any frothy residue. Remove the meat and store in the fridge, but leave the bone. To the pot, add the pearl barley, 2 cups water, onion, carrot and celery. Saute the leek in butter and add that to the pot as well. Simmer covered for two hours. About ten minutes before serving, remove the bay leaf, peppercorns, allspice and thyme, and add the meat that was set aside earlier. Yields four generous servings