Reestit Mutton Soup

Ingredients

• 1.2kg lamb or mutton shoulder, on the bone
• 100g coarse sea salt, for curing
• 3 onions, peeled and quartered
• 500g carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 small swede (neep), peeled and cubed
• 800g floury potatoes (tatties), peeled and quartered
• 3 litres water
• Black pepper, to taste
• 300g mashed potato, for the dumplings
• 150g mashed swede, for the dumplings
• 100g plain flour, for the dumplings, plus extra for shaping
• 25g suet or softened butter, for the dumplings
• 1 egg, for the dumplings
• Salt and pepper, for the dumplings

Before you cook

• Trim excess fat from the mutton or lamb joint, leaving a thin layer for flavor.
• Rub the coarse sea salt all over the joint, pressing it into every surface.
• Place the salted joint in a non-reactive dish, cover, and refrigerate for 3 days, turning it once a day and pouring off any liquid that collects — this dry-cure stands in for the true reestit process, in which the joint is air-dried and slowly smoked over peat for weeks.
• On the day of cooking, rinse the cured joint thoroughly under cold running water to remove surface salt.
• Submerge the joint in a bowl of fresh cold water and soak for 1 hour, changing the water once, to draw out more of the salt.
• Peel and chunk the onions, carrots, swede and potatoes, keeping each vegetable separate.
• In a bowl, combine the mashed potato, mashed swede, flour, suet, egg, salt and pepper into a firm dumpling dough.
• Shape the dumpling dough into 12 small balls with floured hands and chill until needed.

Steps

1. Place the soaked mutton joint into a large stockpot.
2. Cover the joint with 3 litres of cold water.
3. Bring the pot to a boil over high heat.
4. Skim off any grey scum that rises to the surface.
5. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook for 1.5 hours.
6. Add the quartered onions and carrot chunks to the pot.
7. Simmer for a further 30 minutes.
8. Add the cubed swede to the pot.
9. Simmer for another 20 minutes.
10. Add the potato quarters to the pot.
11. Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
12. Lift the mutton joint out of the pot onto a board and let it rest for 5 minutes.
13. Pull the meat off the bone in chunks, discarding the bone and any hard fat.
14. Return the shredded meat to the pot.
15. Taste the broth and season with black pepper, adding salt only if needed.
16. Drop the chilled dumplings into the gently simmering soup.
17. Cover the pot and simmer the dumplings for 15 to 18 minutes, until they float and are cooked through in the center.
18. Ladle the soup, vegetables and dumplings into bowls and serve hot with bannocks alongside.