Cock-a-Leekie Soup for Burns Night (Scottish Chicken, Leek and Rice Soup)
Cock-a-Leekie soup is a traditional choice for the soup course on Burns Night, but you can make this Scottish chicken, leek and rice soup anytime of year.
If you’re having a Burns Night supper, you’ll probably have to make some decisions on the menu. For example, for the soup course, you can make cock-a-leekie soup or Cullen skink.
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Read more about Cullen skink, smoked haddock chowder, and get the full recipe.
I had always wanted to make cock-a-leekie soup, but never realized how incredibly simple it is. I used the recipe from Janet Warren’s A Feast of Scotland cookbook. Well, I should say, I adapted the recipe because it sounded a bit overdone, so to speak.
A chicken is boiled along with a bay leaf, and leeks for 2 to 3 hours (!) then rice and an optional addition of prunes are added to the pot and boiled a further 30 minutes. A bit too long for my taste. As it is, I cooked the leeks for significantly less time and they still seemed overcooked.
Can’t get enough Scottish soups? Try my Scotch broth recipe next!
Obviously, you too can adapt this recipe to your liking, but as far as the prunes go, apparently, they went “out of fashion” in the early 1800s! That’s good enough for me to omit them, however, I know people do add prunes to this soup and enjoy them.
Cock-a-Leekie soup is very light, but very tasty with the leeks and rice. Perfect for a starter, especially for Burns Night! You won’t believe how simple it is to make using only three ingredients (five, if you include water and salt). Another easy soup using leeks is leek and potato soup; have you tried it?
Be sure to choose good, fresh leeks for this dish as there aren’t many ingredients.
TITANIC TRIVIA: “Cockie Leekie” was offered on the first class luncheon menu
of the Titanic on April 14, 1912.
Can I make Cock a Leekie Soup in a Slow Cooker?
Absolutely, it’s actually perfect for a slow cooker. Just put the chicken, salt and water in the slow cooker on low for 4 or 5 hours. Then add the leeks and rice and continue to simmer for another hour or so, or until the rice is ready.
Cock-a-Leekie Soup
(Scottish Chicken, Leek and Rice Soup)
Slightly adapted from Janet Warren’s Feast of Scotland. Serves 8
FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW
Ingredients
- organic chicken with giblets
- sea salt or Kosher salt
- leeks
- rice
- optional: prunes
Directions to Make Cock-a-Leekie Soup
Boil the chicken and giblets in water with about some salt, for about 1.5 hours, skimming as needed.
Remove the chicken and strain the broth. (Use the chicken for another recipe, like green chicken enchiladas. or white chicken chili.) Put the broth back into the pot, add the rice and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Add the leeks and simmer until the rice and leeks are ready. Check for seasoning and add salt, bouillon and pepper as needed.
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Cock-a-Leekie Soup for Burns Night
Ingredients
- 64 oz organic chicken with giblets (weight is unimportant)
- 2 tsp sea salt (or Kosher salt)
- 16 oz leeks (organic, sliced into rounds and washed thoroughly)
- 3 Tbsp rice
- 1 tsp Better than Bouillon (chicken- low sodium, as needed)
- 1 cup prunes (optional)
- 1 tsp black pepper (as needed)
Instructions
- Boil the chicken and giblets in 8 cups (2 liters) of water or more, as needed, with the salt for about 1 ½ hours, skimming as needed.
- Remove the chicken and strain the broth. (Use the chicken for another recipe.) Put back into the pot, add the rice and simmer for about 15 minutes.
- Add the leeks and simmer until the rice and leeks are ready. Check for seasoning and add salt, bouillon and pepper as needed.
Notes
- The prunes are optional.
Nutrition
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I figured the chicken I had on hand was probably bigger than the one called for in the recipe, so I just used enough water to cover it in the pot (an awful lot more than 2 quarts, since I didn’t try to break down the bird for a smaller pot) and used more rice, but I wish I had paid attention while grocery shopping so I knew to pile up more leeks. Fortunately, it all turned out okay due to the forgiving nature of the dish. Ideally, the recipe would call for a particular weight of bird, and I would then scale the recipe based on how large my poultry weighed in; it would then be easy enough to adapt for chicken leg quarters or other bone-in, skin-on pieces.
Because I do like prunes, I looked up some guidelines for adding them back in. Roughly following the suggestion to cook them in the final 40 minutes, they joined the rice going into the pot. I found the dried fruit an excellent note of tartness within the dish. Unfortunately, as leftovers, the prunes lost their personality and tasted only of chicken soup. In future, I will either follow the other suggestion to stew them apart from the rest and add them with the carved chicken while serving, or only put in as many prunes as I plan to eat the first night and add more through either method when reheating.
I read some books on British cookery, a couple months ago, so I expected this boiled meat to be served in or alongside its cooking liquor. The recipe here confounded my expectation, so I went off-script again and did it anyway, resting the bird in a covered pot while the rice and leeks bubbled away, then carving white and dark meat into my bowl before ladling over the soup.
My eating method: use fork to alternate bites of chicken, prune, and leek; drink broth; lastly, scoop up the rice. A square meal, altogether, and it gave my spouse and I two suppers.
Absolutely delicious, will definitely be making it again. Would give it 5 stars but the option is not there
such a simple soup with just a few ingredients. This would be perfect for cold and flu season!
Yep, chicken soup is definitely the thing for colds and flu!
You know, I’ve never tried this with prunes and am beginning to wonder why. Perhaps because it will change the colour and make it sweeter, darker and messy? Agree on your sentiments exactly on the old lengthy cooking times. Yours looks simply delicious, Christina!
Yep, for all those reasons, but especially the sweetness. Truly don’t want sugar in my soup!
We really miss our Scottish neighbor, with whom we celebrated Robert Burns’ night every year! I love the simplicity of this recipe, and I know how good it tastes – she made it for us every year!
Oh that must have been lovely, David! You must really miss her!
I’d never heard of Burns Night or Cock-a-Leekie soup. Lots of learning today. :-) Interesting about the prunes, and what was “fashionable” so long ago. Love the short ingredient list and how developed the flavors must be after the simmering time. Now we need another cool, rainy day, so I make this and cozy up on the couch with it. Yum!
Oh just wait until this weekend, Valentina! You’ll be well-versed in one part of Scottish culture! :) Yes, a very simple chicken soup, but so tasty!
Christina,
Thank you so much for the rose mug. It is beautiful and will go well with my violette flor that I use almost daily. Now I will trade off. The cookies were delicious. Shortbread with lemon in between. Yummy. I will have to make them.
Again thank you for the mug and your wonderful site. I enjoy seeing places you’ve been to and the many recipes..
Janice
So glad you loved the mug and cookies, Janice! Actually the cookies are Custard Creams, not shortbread. Here is the recipe if you want to make them yourself. CUSTARD CREAMS (I did add a little orange oil to the filling.) :) Thanks again for following along! CC