Full-flavoured, filling and comfortingly creamy, Cullen Skink easily tops the upper echelons of the world’s Finest Fish Soup charts and comes second only to haggis as Scotland’s most iconic dish, making it perfect for a Burns Night celebration on Thursday 23 January – or indeed, a perfect cosy supper on any chilly winter evening.
Ingredients (serves 4)
500g smoked haddock fillets
350ml vegetable stock (or water)
1-2 bay leaves
40g butter
1 large shallot, peeled and sliced
1 large leek, sliced
1 stick of celery, sliced
1-2 carrots, peeled and chopped into small dice
400g waxy potatoes (eg. Charlotte potatoes), chopped into small dice
300ml whole milk
A large bunch of fresh chives, snipped
To serve: single cream and oaty brown bread
Method
Place the haddock fillets (skin side down) in a large shallow pan. Add the vegetable stock (or water) and gently bring to the boil. As soon as the liquid boils, take the pan off the heat and set to one side.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan and gently sweat the onion, leek and carrot, covered, for 6-8 minutes or until soft but not coloured. Add the potatoes and continue to cook for a further couple of minutes, stirring continuously.
Lift the poached fish onto a plate and strain the poaching liquid into the soup pan with the vegetables. Add the milk, bring to a simmer and cover and cook for 12-15 minutes or until the potatoes are really tender, stirring regularly. Meanwhile, remove the skin from the poached fish, flake the flesh into chunky pieces and set to one side.
When the potato mixture is ready, remove the pan from the heat and blitz the soup with a hand-held blender (or mash with a potato masher) until smooth but still retaining a bit of texture; aim for a chunky broth. Season to taste with black or white pepper (you probably won’t need any salt as smoked fish is quite salty) and add the fish back to the pan, along with a generous handful of snipped chives.
Gently heat through before serving in warmed bowls topped with generous drizzles of single cream, more snipped chives and plenty of oaty brown bread and butter on the side.
