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Mary Anne here. If you opted for a traditional lamb dinner on Easter and have at least a pound of leftover meat, there’s plenty you can do to stretch your meal…and your money. The following recipe (as well as our Shepherd’s Pie) can be adapted to utilize whatever veggies you served with dinner. I wrote the Scotch Broth recipe using fresh carrots, onions, celery, and mushrooms as if starting from scratch, but you can recycle almost any vegetable leftover from yesterday’s meal. Just adjust the cooking time.
For example, if you have extra cooked carrots – glazed or plain – add them to the soup towards the end of the cooking time so they retain their integrity and don’t turn to mush. The same goes with the Shepard’s Pie recipe – this is great if you have leftover peas but you can substitute corn or similarly textured vegetables. The idea is to create something new based on that pricey lamb – a festive meal doesn’t have to be a wasteful meal.
For leftover Easter Eggs, check out this Top 10 list from Cheri’s Fabulous Foods or my egg-bytes in the Ode to the Egg Cooking Tips. If you have any favorite day-after-Easter meals, let us know!
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Lamb Scotch Broth with Mushrooms and Barley
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
1-lb. leftover of lamb, cut into bite-sized pieces, about 3 cups – from stock
½ lb. Barley, rinsed in a strainer under running water – $2.29
¾ lb. yellow onions, peeled and chopped – $0.79
4 cloves minced garlic – from stock
¾ lb. carrots, peeled and diced – $0.69
2 large stalks celery with leaves attached, diced – $0.37
½ lb. domestic white mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced -$1.99
6 cups LOW-SODIUM beef stock (if you use full-salt stock, use 4 cups stock and 3 cups of water, and do not salt the soup until you’ve tasted it at the end) – stock
1 cup water
4 Tablespoons sweet butter – from stock
2 Tablespoons olive oil – from stock
2 Tablespoons chopped parsley plus an additional 1 Tablespoon for garnish – stock
2 Tablespoons flour – stock
1 Tablespoon Kosher salt – stock
1 teaspoon ground black pepper – stock
Grand Total Assuming Well-Stocked Pantry: $6.13
Cost Per Serving: $1.53
Directions:
1. In a large soup pot heat the olive oil. Add the cut up lamb pieces and re-brown over medium-high heat, about 5 minutes.
2. With a slotted spoon, remove the meat and set aside on a plate. Reserve any juices and also set aside.
3. Melt the butter in the same pot. Add the garlic and onion and sauté over medium-high heat until soft and translucent, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add the mushrooms, carrots, and celery and 2 Tablespoons of parsley. Again, sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 15 minutes.
4. Sprinkle the lamb pieces with 2 Tablespoons of flour, then add to the pot, mixing well to blend.
5. Stir in the lamb liquid, the beef broth, and the water, mixing well.
6. Add the barley, and kosher salt and pepper.
7. Bring the soup to a boil, cover and simmer until barley is soft and tender, about 1 hour.
8. Before serving add the remaining Tablespoon of Parsley. If the soup is too thick, you can add a little water or diluted beef stock. Adjust seasonings accordingly.
Try.
EXCELLENT
So where does the scotch come in?
Scotch just refers to the fact that this recipe has Scottish origins. Sadly, no booze to be had in this soup.
I subbed a little fish sauce (!) for the beef broth. Just a bit. YUMMERS! Will definitely make this again!
Such a good idea! I bet the fish sauce added a really nice kick of umami. Happy New Year!
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