The famous Scottish fish soup made with smoked haddock is called Cullen
Skink. Scotland produces delicious fish
and this famous, very rich and tasty soup recipe originates from the fishing
village of Cullen, in Morayshire, in the north-east of Scotland. At one time
this fish would have been cheap and plentiful, and this dish would have been
served regularly. But of course with
the shortages of fish in the North Sea today, it is now more expensive to buy.
The word "Skink" (which means “essence” in Gaelic) is a soup which
was originally made with shin of beef (it was a sort of soup-stew) , but the main ingredients for the Cullen Skink is
smoked haddock and potatoes. The traditional
way of cooking it was using “Finnan Haddock”, which needs to be skinned after
cooking. This is a very fiddly way of making it, but the recipe below is a bit
easier.
This Cullen Skink Recipe makes a filling and
rich soup and although it can be a meal by itself, it makes a very unusual
starter (providing your guests like fish of course). Serve it with thick slices of homemade crusty bread and unsalted
butter.
Cullen
Skink Recipe
Ingredients
A large smoked haddock (weighing around 2lb)
1 large onion, finely chopped.
2 pts pints (1200ml) milk
1 large potato chopped finely
Salt and pepper
1 bay leaf
Chopped parsley
Method
- Skin the
haddock before cooking.
- Place the
smoked haddock with milk and bay leaf, in a large pan.
- Poach
gently for a few minutes.
- Remove
fish from pan.
- Add onion
and potato to pan and cook gently until soft.
- When the
vegetables are soft, remove the bay leaf.
- Liquidise
the milk, onion and potatoes until they are like a smooth cream. (If
you don't have a liquidiser, try a food processor. If you don't have that,
then use a potato masher although you won't get such a good smooth creamy
texture).
- Return to
the pan, and add the flaked haddock.
- Season
with pepper. (You probably won't want extra salt, as the smoked fish
usually provides enough salt).
- Add
chopped parsley.
Serve with homemade bread and unsalted butter.
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