Scotland has much to offer when it comes to traditional and delicious meals. From savoury Scottish porridge to the iconic national dish of Haggis, Scotland offers culinary cuisine that is unique from its European counterparts. Cullen Skink is one of the famous Scotland dishes, and it is a hearty soup traditionally made with smoked haddock. It is referred to as a type of broth made with the scrapings of beef from the front legs of cattle. This soup comes from a small town named “Cullen”. Skink is the Scottish tern used for knuckle, shin, or Hough of beef. When the Scottish people could not find beef scraps due to weather, they replaced them with fish to cook, and smoked haddock was seen everywhere, transformed into fish-based soups, but the name Skink stuck. It has some new versions with mashed potatoes to add thickness and creaminess and some potatoes chunks—the Cullen Skink, also known as smoked haddock chowder in other parts of Britain. There are different kinds of Smoked Haddock. Traditional recipes used the whole fish that was then de-boned mid-cooking called for undyed smoked haddock.
Ingredients to be used:
· One tablespoon of unsalted butter
· One medium onion
· 400g medium potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
· 250g smoked haddock
· 250ml whole milk
· ½ small bunch of parsley or chives, finely chopped
Preparation method:
· Peel the potatoes, chop them into small chunks and cook in a large pan of boiling salted water for 15 minutes.
· Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, then add chopped onion and fry for 5-8 minutes until translucent, not brown. Add potatoes chunks and 300 ml of water and boil it. Reduce the heat and cook this at a simmer for 10-15 minutes.
· Put haddock in another saucepan and add some milk to cover it on the other side. Cook slowly for 5 minutes until tender. Remove the haddock from the milk with a slotted spoon, transfer it to the plate, and let it cool down. When it is cool enough to touch, crumble into large pieces and removes the bones.
· Put the reserved milk and crumbled haddock in the pan with potato mixture and cook for 5 minutes. Sprinkle the finely chopped parsley or chives and add seasoning.
· Serve with fresh bread and butter.
· To make Cullen skink extra luxurious, stir in a few spoonsful of double cream at the end. We could also add a handful of mussels or prawns.
Nutrition per serving:
· 206 kcal
· 6g fat
· 4g saturates
· 21g carbs
· 6g sugars
· 3g fibre
· 17g protein
· 0.7g salt
Cullen Skink can be reheated over the stovetop, it looks thicker then add some water and stir thoroughly. It can keep for 2 days in the refrigerator if have any leftovers. But we can also freeze it if we are cooking a big batch of it and save some for later. Fish should be covered in liquid and freeze for up to 3 months. Cullen Skink championship happened every year in Scotland, that pits the best Cullen Skink makers and judging is undertaken as a blind tasting with the highest score being declared by Cullen Skink World Champion.