Cullen Skink is a traditional Scottish thick soup or chowder, hailing from the Scottish town of Cullen in Moray on the north east coast of Scotland. Made from smoked haddock, potatoes and onions. Thick, hearty and full of flavour, just perfect for a cold day.
Put the haddock into a large pan and cover with cold water. Add the bay leaf and gently bring it to the boil. Once it is boiling, the fish should be cooked. Check the fish, give it another minute if necessary. Transfer the fish to a plate to cool down, take the pan off the heat but keep the water.
500 g smoked haddock, 1 bay leaf
Meanwhile, add the olive oil to a second large pan with the onion and leeks and gently fry for 5 minutes over a low-medium heat until they are softened.
2 tablespoon olive oil, 1 onion, 2 large leeks
Add the potato chunks and 300ml of the haddock water, with the bay leaf, and simmer for about 10 minutes until the potato is tender. Remove the bay leaf when the potato is cooked.
500 g potatoes
Remove the skin from the haddock and flake it into chunks.
You now need to mash together half the haddock with half the potato, leek and onion mixture in order to thicken the soup, so either transfer half to a food processor and blitz it or mash it together in the pan.
Put everything into the large pan and add the milk. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and bring back to a simmer. Try not to let it boil as the milk may separate. Everything is cooked so it just needs heating through until it is piping hot. Serve with chopped parsley or chives sprinkled over the top of each portion and warm crusty bread.
1 dash salt, 1 dash black pepper, 500 ml milk, 4 teaspoon fresh parsley or chives, 4 crusty bread rolls
Notes
The nutritional information is an estimate and is for the soup only and doesn't include any bread.
Ingredients
Smoked Haddock. Use dyed or undyed. They both taste the same. Traditionally smoked fish took on a slight yellow colour from the smoke. Today, this is usually an industrialised process and the yellow colour is added afterwards to resemble the traditional version.
Potatoes. Most varieties will work well in this recipe. Use a variety that will mash well (ie. with a higher starch content) as potatoes thicken the soup. Try Maris Piper, King Edwards or Desiree or in the US, Russets or Yukon Gold.
Substitutions
You can substitute another smoked fish such as smoked cod or Basa for the Smoked Haddock. Smoked Basa is widely available and is often cheaper than Smoked Haddock. It's the smokiness of the fish that gives the Cullen skink its flavour. If you want a richer version, substitute some of the milk for cream.
Storage
You can keep Cullen Skink in the fridge for up to 2 days. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months. When reheating the soup, be careful not to let it boil as the milk may separate. Keep it on a simmer. If it seems too thick, you can add a little milk.