Legendary Soups
Cullen Skink
A year has passed since our Scottish adventure, where emotions ran wild and discoveries were abundant. In the middle of an unusually hot August, with London sizzling at 40°C and St Andrews in Scotland a refreshing 27°C on the beach, we did the only logical thing – donned our swimwear and braved the chilly waters of the North Sea. Sometimes, there are fantastic surprises in every climate. One such surprise was stumbling upon the remarkable Scottish speciality, Cullen Skink, a soup made from smoked haddock. Rediscovering it again and again, each spoonful reminded me of its excellence. When I returned to seek its comforting embrace in February, I fell in love once more and couldn't help but share its tale with friends and ponder ways to make it more accessible. It struck me that you couldn't find smoked haddock simply anywhere. Fresh from the smokehouse of a legendary coastal town, it's a mouthwatering treasure. No other fish will do – it's specifically haddock that's needed. The closest substitute might be smoked hake, but even that can be elusive. These contemplations led to many discussions with Scottish cuisine lovers and those for whom smoked haddock was out of reach. I was still thinking about this a year later, then it dawned upon me: everyone has their own fish preferences, the only thing that matters is that the fish is hot-smoked and the results won't disappoint. Just as it enchanted me, this soup is sure to captivate you. Even better, it is surprisingly simple to make, considering the depth of flavour it delivers.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 onion (1 leek, optional)
- 2 medium potatoes
- 250 g hot-smoked haddock (or your preferred fish)
- 250 ml whole milk
- Small bunch of chives or parsley
Method
- 1Sauté the finely chopped onion in butter until translucent.
- 2Dice and add the potatoes to the pan with 300 ml of water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes until tender.
- 3In a separate pan, poach the haddock in milk for 5 minutes until tender. Flake the cooled fish, removing any bones.
- 4Combine the milk, fish, onions and potatoes, and simmer gently for another 5 minutes. Season to taste.
- 5Garnish with herbs before serving.
What cullen skink is, and where it comes from
Cullen skink is a thick Scottish soup of smoked haddock, potato, onion and milk. It comes from Cullen, a fishing town on the Moray Firth in the north-east of Scotland, and skink is the old Scots word for a soup or broth — originally one made from a beef shin, later borrowed by the town's fish soup.
It is close to a chowder but leaner: no bacon, no heavy cream, no long list of vegetables. All of the flavour comes from the smoked fish itself. The traditional method is to poach the fish in milk first, then use that smoky milk to cook the potatoes, and finally flake the fish back in large pieces.
The fish is the one thing to get right: you want undyed, naturally smoked haddock, pale straw-yellow rather than bright orange. When haddock is not available, any cold-smoked white fish will do — the smoke will simply be gentler. In Scotland it is served as a lunch in itself, with a thick slice of buttered bread.
Cullen skink questions people ask
- What is cullen skink?
- A Scottish soup of smoked haddock, potato, onion and milk, from the town of Cullen on the Moray Firth. Skink is the old Scots word for a broth.
- How is cullen skink different from chowder?
- Chowder usually adds bacon, cream and more ingredients; cullen skink is just smoked fish, potato, onion and milk, so the smoky flavour of the fish carries everything.
- What can I use instead of smoked haddock?
- Any cold-smoked white fish — smoked hake is the closest. Avoid bright orange dyed fillets; the flavour and colour are artificial.
- Where does the name come from?
- Cullen is the fishing town in Moray where the soup was made; skink is the old Scots word for a broth, originally a soup of beef shin that the fish version borrowed the name from.
