I grew up in Lanarkshire
in the '50's and one of my favourite meals was
Tattie and Mince Soup, not to be confused with Mince
and Tatties, a totally different dish.
There is nothing sophisticated
about this dish, but it is a wonderful comfort food for those who
grew up with it.
IMPORTANT - Do not brown the
mince as part of the process, if you do the bree ( liquid) of the
soup will become brown and you will be making watery Mince and
Tatties.
One of the delights of Tattie
and Mince soup, for me, was that the bree was clear, so I could
scoop up the mince etc while avoiding those dreadful carrots.
As the oldest, I was sent
the "messages", and I have no recollection of ever being sent to
the butcher for more than a half pound of mince.
So this recipe is a
reconstruction round a half pound of mince that fed five of us,
and had left overs.
This will feed four
comfortably today, if you have visitors descend on you, you add
more water and another stock cube until there is enough for all.
As it says in the old song
"Put more water in the
soup, there's better times a'coming"
While this recipe is
called a "soup", and so people may think of it as a starter, it
was in fact the main/only meal, accompanied by bread for
dunking.
1/2 pound of mince (225 grams)
Two large potatoes, cut into pieces
One carrot chopped
One Tumchie (Turnip) or Swede or Parsnip ( as available, ie cheap)
cut into pieces
The White of one Leek or one onion chopped.
One teaspoon of salt, or to taste
Two stock cubes - I use chicken, but I am fairly sure my mother
would have used OXO beef cubes, as in the '50's chicken was a rich
mans dish.
Put all the above ingredients
in a large pot, cover well with water, and bring to the boil. (I
told you it was not a sophisticated dish)
Simmer until vegetables are
just on the point of breaking up, say 40 mins or so.
Add handful of chopped parsley
and remove from heat.
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