Scottish Lentil Soup with Ham Hough

Suitable For The Whole Family

I feel comfortable giving this to my children who follow Baby Led Weaning (BLW) from around 6 months old. The grated vegetables are perfectly soft and the ideal consistency for them.

The only element I would modify is the salt content. Reduce the number of stock cubes to 2 (diluted with the amount of water this is perfectly fine), or use no-salt stock cubes. 

And opt for unsmoked ham hough (hock) if adding meat. Or simply omit the meat and making it a vegetable lentil soup (with either ham or vegetable stock cubes).

I wouldn’t offer a baby under 12 months any chunks of ham hough, unless you ensure to shred it before offering.

And because it freezes well, you can make a batch, freeze into little portions and use as necessary for your baby or toddler.

Photo below of my baby (10 months old) enjoying her squares of bread soaked in Scottish Lentil Soup.

Ingredients + Substitutions for Scottish Lentil + Ham Hough Soup

Lentils: I use red lentils, so I would recommend using red lentils for a truly authentic Scottish taste.

You can use pre-cooked lentils if you want (tinned or pouch), but dried lentils have a double purpose of better taste and thickening the soup up whilst cooking. 

Ham Hough: A ham hough (or hock) or pork knuckle is the joint between the tibia/fibula and the metatarsals of the foot of a pig, where the foot was attached to the hog's leg.

Whether you use unsmoked or smoked is truly a matter of taste. I personally use smoked as I like the flavour it adds to the soup. 

Ham Stock Cubes: I use Knorr Ham Stock cubes but if you can’t source them easily then Vegetable Stock Cubes will work. 

I know 4 may seem a lot but it’s what I add to get the outcome I want without needing to season further. If you would rather not use this many, or are conscious of salt content, then reduce stock cubes to 2 and season as required at the end / when serving.

Water

Swede

Carrots

Onions

Bay Leaves: not essential if you don't have any.

Parsley: fresh is preferable. Not essential.

How To Make Scottish Lentil Soup with Ham Hough

1. Rinse out lentils with water, until the water is clear after rinsing.

Much like with rice, once you rinse the lentils you’ll see the water get clearer each time you do so.

The method is simple:

Add the lentils to a bowl and fill with water.

Move lentils and water around in a circular motion with your hand.

Discard the water and repeat the cycle until the water is clear.

I suggest you do this, but if you need to get cooking, it isn’t wholly necessary.  

Unlike with broth mixture (used in my Traditional Scotch Broth recipe), you do not NEED to soak or rinse lentils. Alternatively, you can leave them soaking for 30 mins first, then rinse. Although this also isn't necessary.

2. Grate turnip and carrots and finely chop onions.

I suggest that you grate both swede and carrot and it makes it easier to achieve the texture we’re aiming for once the soup is cooked. 

It is a little bit of a faff if you’re doing it manually, but I can recommend my Ninja Blender 3 in 1 food processor, which grates the vegetables for you in literally seconds and keeps the mess contained to the unit itself (rather than all over your kitchen counter).

3. Add vegetables to large soup pot on top of ham hock.

I cook the ham hock joint in with the vegetables and the rest of the soup, for the simple reason it’s easier (and quicker). But you will see a lot of recipes call for it to be cooked separately. 

This is because the ham will take longer to cook and tenderise than the vegetables, but I’ve never found my method to be an issue in this respect, as I want the vegetables to be extremely soft anyway. 

4. Add bay leaves, stock & lentils to soup pot with veg

5. Cook on medium heat for approx 2 - 2.5 hours.

I provide this range as the 30 minutes doesn’t make too much of a difference in terms of final flavour. I’ve cooked for up to 3 hours before with no issue. 

6. After 2 hours, remove the ham hock from the pot to shred it (continue soup simmering whilst you do this).

Allow the ham to cool on a plate for approx. 30 minutes before removing the skin and any fat and shred / cut up the meat. This meat will then be added back into the soup at the end, as long as you can refrain yourself from eating it all!

Add chopped parsley for last 30 mins. 

Parsley is what I called a ‘light’ herb, so it’s one that you always add near the end of a recipe, otherwise the flavour will be lost to the stewing time.

Other herbs like this (although not used in this recipe) include: basil, coriander and dill. So if a recipe calls for these herbs, ideally add them at the end.

Remove the bay leaves (don't want to chew down on them when eating the soup)

Add shredded ham hock back into soup pot.

Use potato masher (yep, that trusty utensil!) to mash up your soup to achieve desired consistency.

FAQs

Storage

How long does it keep in the fridge - approx. 4-5 days as long as your fridge is below 4C

Can you freeze it - the soup can be frozen for up to 3 months. The exact duration will be dictated by what temperature your freezer is and also where in the freezer you store it.

What type of container can you freeze soup in? When freezing soup, you can use any freezer safe container - made of plastic, glass or freezer-safe bags (as this is also a good space saver).

And finally…

If you do choose to make it, I hope you enjoy it!

Why not try some of my other Traditional Scottish recipes like Stewed Sausages, Scotch Broth or Mince and Tatties?

If you have any other questions, or want to tell me what you think of my recipe, then please leave a comment below!