Ingredients
210g carrots (3 large carrots)
700g leeks (2 large leeks, roots and topmost part of greens trimmed off - use at least 6 " of green parts)
50ml olive oil for soup, 10 ml olive oil for cooking chicken
300g celery (1/2 head)
50g shallot (1 medium shallot)
1300ml chicken broth (1 and 1/2 box TJ's chicken broth)
300g collard greens
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
zest from 1 lemon or half a Seville orange
50g steel ground pinhead oatmeal (optional)
1 large chicken breast
1 teaspoon sea salt
Method
Slice the carrots and one of the leeks into pieces no more than 2cm x 1cm.
Put the olive oil and most of the black pepper into a large heavy based saucepan (6 or 8 quart capacity for this volume).
Set to heat. Add the carrots, shallot, and up to half of the leeks. Keep the lid on the pot until it boils, then allow the steam to evaporate - the idea is to partly fry the vegetables. Shred the rest of the leek, and the greens. Chop the celery into 1cm dice. Once the carrots are soft, and the leeks and shallot partly transparent, add the rest of the leeks, the celery, the greens, the zest, and the oatmeal to the pot. Bring back to the boil, and turn down the heat to get a slow simmer for at least 45 minutes. If the oatmeal is used, the soup will be noticeably more solid - more like a main course.
Meantime, in a separate pot, heat another 10 ml of olive oil. Slice the chicken breast into 1cm thick pieces, about 3cm square. Add the pieces to the hot oil, with more black pepper and the teaspoon of salt. Cook quickly, stirring once or twice, breaking up the chicken into small bite sized pieces once it is soft. Transfer as much of the vegetable mixture and chicken broth to this as you need for two portions, and bring back through the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.
This quantity gives 6 - 8 servings of vegetables in chicken stock. It keeps well in the fridge; add extra fresh greens or other protein sources as required.
The original recipe for cock-a-leekie soup includes 1 chicken (the cock), and leeks, with prunes added part way through the cooking. The chicken meat is served separately (having been extracted from the boiling pot, and the well boiled meat removed from the bones). The recipe given here is adapted for people with less time, who can buy rather than make chicken stock.