We love this delicious Tradtional Scottish Harvest Broth called Hotch Potch. It’s so delicious to have at the end of Summer and is the perfect way to use up all of the Summer garden peas and broad beans. The sweetness of the Scottish Summer peas and broadbeans works really well with the lamb neck and other vegetables. This is definitely one of our favourite soups at the end of the Summer and we love to freeze it too to enjoy in the Autumn.

The full recipe is available in the video below. Follow the video for easy to follow, clear instructions to make your own Traditional Scottish Hotch Potch Soup recipe.

Traditional Scottish Hotch Potch soup is the perfect soup to warm you up on the odd colder day at the end of the Scottish Summer months. It’s also called Hairst Bree which means Harvest Broth. I think its the perfect name for this soup as it uses up so many elements of the Summer harvest. It’s a great way to use up your peas, broadbeans and a cauliflower or two from your garden in the late Summer months.

Hotch Potch is a slightly sweet fresh tasting soup but with a hearty element as a result of the addition of the lamb. Traditionally lamb is used in the recipes I have resaerched and lamb neck in particular but I do believe you could also make this with other cuts of meats if you wanted to be experimental. I do feel the lamb flavour works really well with the soup though. If your using very young peas and broadbeans the flavour will be sweeter and if you don’t have access to seasonal peas and broadbeans and are making this recipe outwith the Summer months then I would recommend using frozen peas and broadbeans. I would recommend trying it seasonally though as its just delicious!

The best bits about this recipe…

1. This Hotch Potch Soup is so easy to make and is enjoyed by all the family. Even my little toddler loves the small pieces of vegetables and lamb from this soup and eats them all up with a little bread on the side.
2. This is a hearty Hotch Potch broth and a meal in itself. It’s filling enough to have for dinner, especially if you have this Hotch Potch with a freshly made crusty bread roll. The crusty bread rolls I have linked are so delicious lathered with some salty butter fresh out of the oven. These bread rolls are perfect for this soup!
3. This recipe is based on a few Traditional Scottish recipes I found, its my variation but close to the old fashioned ways of making Hairst Bree / Hotch Potch. This recipe will give you a taste of a good Scottish harvest and all the delicious things in the garden to devour at this time of year. Its quite simply the late Scottish Summer garden in a bowl.
4. The Hotch Potch soup also works really well with the following recipes below. The creamy crowdie and the homemade oatcakes. I couldn’t think of a better combination, a nice big bowl of warming Scottish soup, homemade oatcakes and fresh creamy crowdie.

Some Top Tips for making this recipe…

• If possible I would recommend making this delicious Hotch Potch in the Summer months, especially around harvest time. This will give you the best chance of finding some fresh peas and broadbeans. It also tastes sweeter when the peas are freshly picked out of the garden.
• If you don’t have a garden then don’t panic you can grab yourself some fresh peas and broadbeans from the supermarket in the Summer months or even from your local farmers market.
• Can’t find fresh produce? Cool! You can also use freezer fresh peas and broadbeans. It will still make a good hearty soup.
• You can also double or triple the recipe to make a huge batch for the freezer. You can then enjoy your Hotch Potch Hairst Bree all winter. It’s best eaten fresh of course but I do enjoy a batch from the freezer too.
• Try making up some of the fresh Scottish Crowdie Cheese and Home made Oatcakes in the videos above to go along with this recipe. I guarantee you will not be dissapointed they are such a delicious combination and would make a truely authentic and delicious hearty Traditional Scottish meal.
• As I mentioned in the video try and use lamb neck instead of the lamb chops. The chops just didnt work as good and the neck is so much tastier in this soup. I personally think that the lamb neck also makes a better broth and has less scum to remove while cooking. It’s also really tender and is lovely to add in small pieces back into your Hotch Potch.
• All the vegetabes for the Hotch Potch should be cut up fairly small, slightly smaller than 1cm cubed.
• Homemade stock works a treat in soup recipes and its worth the extra effort to make your own homemade vegetable stock. I would consider adding in a marrow bone for additional nutritional value.

Some basic equipment you will need…

• I like to use my cast iron pot for making a huge pan of soup. It’s a le crueset lookalike from Tesco (our local supermarket) you can get a similiar version for a similiar price on Amazon. I hope to invest in a proper le crueset branded pan in the future but for now my tea stained replica will have to do.
• You will need a decent chunky wooden chopping board for preparing of your delicious vegetables.
• Some lovely Scottish pottery for serving up your delicious Hotch Potch works really well for presentation. I am waiting for a few pieces from this lovely Pottery business called Lochbroom Pottery. They were originally made in Ullapool Scotland but are now made in another beautiful part of the country in Fife. (I’m not affiliated with her work I just love her style and designs)

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Hotch Potch Soup Hairst Bree Ingredients

1 1/2 lb of lamb neck

1tsp of salt

2 chopped medium onions

2 chopped carrots

1 half of a medium turnip chopped

1-2 cups of shelled peas

1/2 cup of shelled broad beans

3/4 of a medium cauliflower chopped

vegetable stock cube

salt & pepper for seasoning

fresh herbs for garnish

Recipe Instructions

1. Fill a large saucepan with water and the salt and add all the lamb into the water.
2. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer for 1 hour and skim off the scum that arises to the surface with a spoon frequently to create a clear broth.
3. Remove the meat and set aside to cool.
4. Add in all the vegetables and the stock except for the cauliflower and cook on a medium heat for 20 minutes until vegetables are tender.
5. Meanwhile chop up all the cooled meat into small cubes and add back into the soup.
6. Add in the cauliflower and cook for a further fifteen minutes.
7. Stir through and serve immediately.
8. This soup develops flavour overnight and always tastes better the next day but it is delicious straight from the pot too. Enjoy!

If your on pinterest feel free to share the pin below to your board for later use. Believe me you’ll want to make this more than once! 🙂

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