This is generally more of an Autumn/Winter recipe but based on the recent August weather in Orkney it may be needed sooner than later. Cullen Skink derives its name from the town of Cullen in Moray, where it is a speciality. I happened to make some at the weekend and it’s really easy which is the repeated message which comes from my kitchen. People often commend my baking and cooking; but between you and me the key to my culinary success is pick simple recipes and ingredients, and then dumb them down even more according to your cooking prowess. When it comes to making soup I never measure anything either. I use terms like ‘a few of these’ ‘a bit of this’ ‘some’ etc. I’m no Nigella, that much is obvious. In fact it’s turning into the worst online recipe ever as it’s pretty much guess work. But if you’re fairly intuitive and can cope with my slapdash approach to soup making then read on.
Cullen Skink is a traditional Scottish soup recipe usually made with ingredients of smoked haddock, potato, onion and milk or cream. It can be used as a starter, but I make it quite chunky and it serves as a lovely lunch. I also threw in some cod and used leeks instead of onion but you can be flexible as to how you make it with what you have available.
Chop and fry off your leeks in a little butter.Then peel and chop your potatoes. You can’t beat home grown new tatties. No peeling needed, just run them under the tap and rub them with your fingers. New tatties are delicious but you can use any potato so long as it doesn’t go too fluffy when boiled. Chop them into bite size pieces and add to the leeks.
Skin and dice your fish, then add it to the other ingredients. Add water and bring to the boil, season with salt and pepper, and add a stock cube or my favourite for soups which is vegetable bullion.
Let this simmer away until your fish and potatoes are cooked through. Add the milk or cream to taste and make sure it’s heated through before you serve. It really is delicious.
Norq From Ork 