Cullen Skink- Scottish Soup
I grew up in Eastern Europe in a small country called Moldova. When I was very young, my biological mother got a job as a cook in Moscow, Russia. She left the country behind, including me, and went away to pursue her dream job. I remember that every time she came back to visit me, she tried to teach me the culinary art, but I was never interested. A few years later, I ended up in the largest orphanage in the country. Very soon, food became nothing more than the fuel that was needed for my body to survive. One day one of our teachers, in an attempt to teach us a life lesson, told us one of Benjamin Franklin’s sayings: “Eat to live, don’t live to eat.” I never forgot that saying, and maybe that is why food has never played an important role in my life. Maybe that is why I never became a cook like my biological mother.
When I turned 16 years old, I became a part of a Scottish family that had been living in America for 35 years. I came to the United States in 2008 for the first time and fell in love with the country and its people. Before I started college, I had the opportunity to travel to a few places like Canada, Turkey, Mexico, England, and Scotland. The tradition in our family is that everywhere we go we find a Chinese restaurant and eat there as a family. The best Chinese food I ever had was in China Town in London at a restaurant called “Aroma Duck”.
My favorite foods are fish and everything made of fish. During one of my trips to Scotland, we got to visit my Auntie Diane who is a cook. She cooked so much food for us, but the food I fell in love with was Cullen Skink. It is a fish soup. Now every time my grandmother comes to visit from Scotland, she makes it for us.
The Recipe
Cullen is a small town in the Northeast of Scotland and the home of one of Scotland's most famous dishes, Cullen Skink. Cullen Skink is a hearty soup that is traditionally made with Finnan haddock (smoked haddock), potatoes, and onions.
Ingredients:
1 ¼ pints/700 ml milk
½ cup/ small handful flat leaf parsley
1 bay leaf
1lb /450g undyed, smoked haddock fillet
½ stick/55g butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
8oz/ 250g mashed potato, leftover or cooked fresh
Salt and pepper
Preparation:
Serves 4
Pour the milk into a large saucepan. Remove the leaves from the parsley and add the stalks to the milk. Finely chop the leaves and keep to one side. Add the bay leaf and the haddock to the milk.
Bring the milk to a gentle boil and cook for 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and leave for 5 minutes for the herbs to infuse their flavor into the milk.
Remove the haddock from the milk with a slotted spoon and put to one side. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve and reserve the herb-infused milk.
Heat the butter in another saucepan, add the onions, and cook gently until translucent. This usually takes about 5 minutes. Take care not to burn the onions.
Add the milk to the onions, then add the potatoes, and stir until totally incorporated into the milk. This should be a thick, creamy consistency.
Flake the smoked haddock into meaty chunks taking care to remove any bones you may find. Add the haddock to the soup.
Add the chopped parsley leaves to the soup, bring to a gentle simmer, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Do not over-stir. If over-stirred, then you will break up the fish too much.
Taste the soup and add salt and pepper as needed. Be careful with the salt, because the fish will impart quite a salty flavor all on its own.
Serve hot with crusty bread.
When I turned 16 years old, I became a part of a Scottish family that had been living in America for 35 years. I came to the United States in 2008 for the first time and fell in love with the country and its people. Before I started college, I had the opportunity to travel to a few places like Canada, Turkey, Mexico, England, and Scotland. The tradition in our family is that everywhere we go we find a Chinese restaurant and eat there as a family. The best Chinese food I ever had was in China Town in London at a restaurant called “Aroma Duck”.
My favorite foods are fish and everything made of fish. During one of my trips to Scotland, we got to visit my Auntie Diane who is a cook. She cooked so much food for us, but the food I fell in love with was Cullen Skink. It is a fish soup. Now every time my grandmother comes to visit from Scotland, she makes it for us.
The Recipe
Cullen is a small town in the Northeast of Scotland and the home of one of Scotland's most famous dishes, Cullen Skink. Cullen Skink is a hearty soup that is traditionally made with Finnan haddock (smoked haddock), potatoes, and onions.
Ingredients:
1 ¼ pints/700 ml milk
½ cup/ small handful flat leaf parsley
1 bay leaf
1lb /450g undyed, smoked haddock fillet
½ stick/55g butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
8oz/ 250g mashed potato, leftover or cooked fresh
Salt and pepper
Preparation:
Serves 4
Pour the milk into a large saucepan. Remove the leaves from the parsley and add the stalks to the milk. Finely chop the leaves and keep to one side. Add the bay leaf and the haddock to the milk.
Bring the milk to a gentle boil and cook for 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and leave for 5 minutes for the herbs to infuse their flavor into the milk.
Remove the haddock from the milk with a slotted spoon and put to one side. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve and reserve the herb-infused milk.
Heat the butter in another saucepan, add the onions, and cook gently until translucent. This usually takes about 5 minutes. Take care not to burn the onions.
Add the milk to the onions, then add the potatoes, and stir until totally incorporated into the milk. This should be a thick, creamy consistency.
Flake the smoked haddock into meaty chunks taking care to remove any bones you may find. Add the haddock to the soup.
Add the chopped parsley leaves to the soup, bring to a gentle simmer, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Do not over-stir. If over-stirred, then you will break up the fish too much.
Taste the soup and add salt and pepper as needed. Be careful with the salt, because the fish will impart quite a salty flavor all on its own.
Serve hot with crusty bread.