Love Your Leftovers: Lamb Stock & Scotch Broth

I love leftovers. It makes me happy to have a full fridge full of delicious things. But it's also magical to see something that looks finished transformed into a brand new meal.

So far I've not been a great fan of homemade stock but think probably because I just didn't manage a good one! But the lamb bone from Sunday's roast was too good to waste and after all, if we're going to eat meat I feel we should absolutely use it all.

I googled for a bit of help and loosely followed Gordon Ramsay's advice:

Lamb Stock

bone from 2kg leg of lamb (of whatever you have and scale up/down as necessary, small ones are fine too)
2 small onions
1 large carrot
1 leek
1 tsp black peppercorns
bay leaf
large sprig each of rosemary & thyme
1/2 glass white wine

1. Remove any remaining meat from bones then brush the bones with olive oil and roast at 200c for 60 minutes.
2. Chop vegetables into large chunks then heat some olive oil in a large soup pan and cook for about 5 minutes.
3. Pour in the wine and deglaze the pan, then add remaining ingredients and cover with cold water. 
4. Bring to the boil then simmer for 4-6 hours, removing any scum or fat that collects on the surface.
5. Sieve the stock then (this is the gross part) pick through the pieces to remove any more meat that has come away from the bone..
6. Freeze the stock or keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.

I've also never made Scotch Broth but again, I consulted Google as I wasn't sure what I should actually use the lamb stock for. I will say immediately that this is not a traditional or accurate recipe: it's just my interpretation based on what I had in the house

Scotch Broth

approx 2 litres stock (and be brazen about topping up from a cube if you homemade quantity wasn't enough)
2 small onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large or 2 medium carrots, in small dice
2 sticks celery, in small dice
2 medium potatoes, in small dice
1/4 large swede, in small dice
2 leeks, finely chopped or sliced
250g yellow split peas (pearl barley is traditional but I avoid gluten)
1 large sprig each of rosemary, thyme, of whatever fresh herbs you might have (but woody types)
whatever quantity of leftover lamb you have, shredded small (even a tiny quantity is fine, after all what else would you use it for?!)
salt and pepper to season

1. Chop all the vegetables as directed.
2. Heat some oil in a pan then add the onions and celery, cook for a few minutes until they start to soften.
2. Add garlic and remaining vegetables, cook for a few minutes.
3. Add split peas, lamb, stock and herbs then season.
4. Bring to the boil then simmer with the lid on for about 50-60 minutes or until the split peas are cooked.
5. Stir every so often and add more water if necessary.
6. Taste and adjust seasoning - you'll be surprised how much soup needs especially with a homemade stock which doesn't contain salt.
7. Serve it up! 

Soups generally freeze well and I tend to make a large quantity and freeze half in portions. In my experience homemade soup doesn't keep very long in the fridge - I would say maybe three days. Mindful that I really should have included more photos here but it was an unplanned experiment so I have only the finished dish! I thought it was seriously delicious.