Cullen skink is a rich and comforting Scottish fish soup made of smoked haddock, onion and potato. You can use dyed or undyed smoked haddock but undyed is preferable for a more natural colour. Cullen skink is great for a warming winter meal or a perfect starter for a Burns’ Night feast in January.
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
- 500g of smoked haddock fillet, undyed
- 1l whole milk
- 2 onions, peeled and diced
- 25g of butter
- 2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm dice
- salt
- pepper
Method
1
In a shallow pan, poach the haddock in the milk for 6¬–8 minutes. When cooked, remove the fish from the milk and set aside. Reserve the milk.
2
Sweat the onion in the butter until soft but not coloured. Add the diced potato and cook for a further 5 minutes
3
Add the reserved milk to the pan, bring to a boil and simmer until the potatoes are cooked through
4
Roughly mash the potatoes with a potato masher
5
Flake the haddock and return to the pan
6
Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving
Variations
Variations are plentiful in Cullen skink recipes, so play around to find your perfect version. You could try adding cream for extra richness, incorporating other vegetables such as leeks and Jerusalem artichokes or garnishing with fresh herbs like chives, parsley or chervil.
Adam Stokes adds quails eggs in his Cullen skink.
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