Scotch Barley & Kale Broth

If your looking for something hearty and healthy this January then this broth is perfect for you. This recipe is biult up on a delicious beef broth using leeks, onions and kale for the vegetable base and can also be served with a wee suppie cream.

The barley in this recipe is loved by all of my kids, especially the little one she loves to pick out the barley pieces from her bowl and its so filling and delicious on a cold Winters day. Although kale can be tough the kale cooks down to a smooth silky texture and is delicious in this soup. This soup is hearty enough to be served as a main meal but also works well in a three course setting as a small portion.

This recipe is not the most colourful of dishes but it is really delicious and I would encourage you to give it a try on a cold day. We had a stash of this in the fridge and had some on a snowy Winters day and watched an episode of Oultander at the same time lol, it was lovely! This recipe was inspired by a traditional Scottish Orcadian recipe for barley broth. It uses many seasonal vegetables from the garden and is perfect to make when you need a boost of greens.

If you like the sound of this recipe you may also like some of my other delicious recipes below. The mince and tatties would work really well as part of a three course meal serving this soup as a starter and the Pear and Caramel tart would make a delicious dessert served with Mackies of Scotlands creamy Ice cream. The links for the recommended videos are below:

Tips for making this recipe:

This soup is hearty enough to be served as the main dish especially for lunch but you could serve it up as part of a three course meal as a smaller portion. I would skip the bread if you are serving it up as a three course meal.
I have used beef steak in this recipe but beef rib works really well to create a beef stock base. If you wanted to make this without beef you could use a good homemade chicken or beef stock.
You could use a marrow bone in this recipe and add it at the same time as the beef steak. This just adds extra flavour and nutrition but is optional.
This soup creates about 6-8 medium to large portions and could be stored in the freezer for future use. It also stores well in the fridge for 4-5 days.

Barley Kale & Scotch Broth Recipe

175g dried barley
2 litres of water
Beef rib or steak approx 200-300g
Beef Marrow bone (optional)
1 onion chopped
1 large leek chopped
Kale chopped approx 4 handfuls
Salt & pepper
Beef stock (optional)

Recipe Instructions:

Start by rinsing the barley really well in fresh water using a seive. Set aside.
Place the rinsed barley into a large pan and bring to the boil with approx 2 litres of water. Skim any scum from the surface that has risen in the water from the barley. Keep skimming until the water is clear.
Add the beef and a few tsp of sea salt. Bring to the boil and simmer on a medium for around 1hr 30 until the barley is completely cooked.
Remove the beef from the soup and leave to cool slightly to chop up. Slice up into small pieces removing any fat and add back into the soup.
Add in the onions, leek and kale into the soup and simmer on a medium simmer for a further 45-60minutes. Pour in a little additional water or stock if nessecary, I used about an extra cup or two.
Season with salt and pepper and serve up immediately with brown crusty rolls.