Leek Soup

Ingredients

• 1 sheep's head
• 3 quarts water
• 12 leeks, cut small
• pepper
• salt
• oatmeal

Method

Blanch the sheep's head under cold running water, then split it lengthways and remove the brains — you're after the meat clinging to bone and cartilage, which will collapse into the broth and thicken it naturally. Place the head in cold water and bring to a rolling boil; the initial violent heat draws out blood and impurities that will cloud the finished soup. Skim the grey scum that rises for the first minute, then lower the heat to maintain a gentle, steady simmer. This is a braising operation: the long, moist heat breaks down collagen in the head into gelatin, which gives the broth body without any thickening agent.

After two hours, add the leeks cut into small rounds — fine enough that they'll soften into the liquid but large enough that you can still identify them. Season with salt and ground black pepper now, not at the end; the flavours need time to integrate into the broth. Continue simmering for another two hours, until the meat on the head is falling away from the bone and the leeks have nearly dissolved into the stock. The broth should taste rich and savoury, not weak. If it tastes thin, you've either used too much water or rushed the simmer.

Twenty minutes before serving, make a liaison: whisk the oatmeal with cold water until you've no lumps, then temper it by ladling hot broth into the oatmeal mixture whilst stirring constantly. This prevents the oatmeal seizing into a gluey mass. Pour the tempered oatmeal slowly back into the pot, stirring continuously. The oatmeal will thicken the stock into a loose porridge — it should coat the back of a spoon but still pour. Simmer for a final ten minutes to fully cook the oatmeal grains through; they'll taste slightly grainy and raw if you rush this.

Ladle into deep bowls. Pick any remaining meat from the head pieces if you wish and return it to the pot, discarding the bone. The soup should be warming rather than elegant — this is peasant food, built on offal and thickened grain, designed to fill and sustain.