Cullen Skink and a Bargain too
Cullen Skink
As regular readers know I used to be a professional cook and love to make soups. When the missus isn’t on a diet I make soup for us every lunch time. Cullen Skink involves what my older sister used to call “Finnie Haddie,” smoked haddock. This soup is from the village of Cullen that its website describes as “your gateway to exploring the charm and beauty of Cullen, a picturesque village on Scotland's Moray Coast. “ Cullen is near to the alternative community at Findhorn and it’s to the east of Inverness. And it’s north of Aviemore. All in all it’s a small place with a grand soup.
What to Do
Traditionalist suggest Abroath smokies, but any good smoked haddock will do and they indeed will be less overpowering than the “smokies.” Some find that the smokies make the soup too bitter and they ain’t cheap.
So you’ll need 400g of floury potatoes
250g Smoked haddock dyed or undyed according to your liking
Half a pint of milk, I use semi skimmed
Medium onion and two small leeks
Bunch of parsely
Splash of white wine ,salt and pepper to taste. Cream to top it off.
You can make a nice stock with onions and leeks. So take two small leeks and a medium onion and chop in small pieces and soften in a bit of butter on a low heat until they are golden and creamy. Add a generous splash of white wine with seasoning. Add the potatoes sliced into the mix with some water to well cover the mix and simmer on low for 15 minutes.I also add a teaspoon of vegetable bouillon. Meanwhile cook the haddock in a separate pan with the milk for 5 minutes, don’t overcook it and then add the mix into the larger pan for a couple of more minutes only.
It’s now ready to serve well garnished with the chopped parsley and a splash of cream of you like that sort of thing like I do. You can crumble oat cakes or fresh crusty bread into the soup to thicken it up as a winter warmer. Oh and warm the plates first .
And if you like the idea of a good thing James Pirie has many good things now on sale. Aviemore isn’t far away from the village of Cullen and we have the Aviemore Large Crystal Tumblers by Royal Scot Crystal on sale for half price. It’s an elegant wine suite and it comes in a lovely presentation box and free delivery and if you tick the box at check out free gift wrapping too
