No.156 Cullen Skink

Cullen Skink takes its name from the town in North East Scotland where it originated, Cullen. A perfect marriage of land and sea with traditional staples of potatoes and onions, and haddock which would have been smoked to preserve it. Simply add some cream from the family cow.

Though time has passed the recipe is essentially the same. Just a few points to make, firstly, you need to get undyed smoked haddock. The “yellow stuff” in the shop is artificially dyed and therefore the fish is likely to not have been properly smoked. This surprisingly dated back to the world wars where to increase food production the dye was added but smoking time reduced. Most good fish mongers or higher end supermarkets in the UK should stock this. I prefer the addition of leek instead of an onion to soften the flavour and bring the focus to the fish.

Serves: 2-3

Time: 20 Minutes

Difficulty Straight Forward

300g of Smoked Haddock (undyed)

400ml of Fish Stock

200ml of Double Cream

400g of Floury Potatoes

1 Leek

2 tablespoons of Butter

Oatmeal (optional)

Salt and Pepper

1. Top and tail the leek. Take your knife and cut down the middle of the leek to the centre point. Then cut diagonally to form ribbons of leek.

2. Add the leek to a pot with the butter and sweat for 5 minutes until softened. Aim to get some browning on the leeks.

3. Cube the potatoes and boil for 5-10 minutes until cooked.

4. Add the fish to the fish stock and simmer for 5 minutes.

5. Remove the fish from the pot and flake with a fork before returning to the stock.

6. Add the potatoes and almost all the leek to the stock. Mix well. Add the cream.

7. Bring the mixture to a simmer then pour into bowls.

8. Serve with extra leek on top and optionally, a sprinkle of oatmeal.