Smoked Haddock Soup (Cullen Skink)

Summary

Yield2
Source

My Grandmother!

Prep Time45 minutes
RecipesSoups and Stews

Description

Ingredients

  • 1lb smoked haddock
  • 1 onion, peeled and cut in half through the root
  • about 6 whole cloves
  • about 1/2 lb of leftover mash, otherwise same amount of floury potatoes, peeled, diced small and cooked
  • about 1 pint WHOLE milk (don't try semi-skimmed, it'll split)
  • handfull of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • Salt and pepper to taste - lots of pepper is good, but the salt will depend on the saltiness of your fish
  • 1lb smoked haddock
  • 1 onion, peeled and cut in half through the root
  • about 6 whole cloves
  • about 1/2 lb of leftover mash, otherwise same amount of floury potatoes, peeled, diced small and cooked
  • about 1 pint WHOLE milk (don't try semi-skimmed, it'll split)
  • handfull of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • Salt and pepper to taste - lots of pepper is good, but the salt will depend on the saltiness of your fish

Instructions

Stud the onion halves with the cloves.

Place the haddock (cut the fillet in half if necessary, it want's to pretty much all lie flat on the bottom of the pan) and onion halves in a frying pan or saute pan or wide bottomed sauce pan. Pour in enough milk to cover the fish. Place on a low heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the fish is just cooked, about 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the piece.

Remove the fish from the milk with a slotted spoon and put on a plate to cool. Allow the milk and onion to simmer for another 15 minutes or so.

While the milk finishes simmering, take the skin off the haddock, if necessary, and flake the fish.

When the milk is done, take out the onion. Strain the milk through a sieve into a saucepan. Add the flaked haddock and cooked potato or mash to the milk and heat up again, don't quite let it boil. If you're using cooked potato, you might want to mash it up a little to give some thickness to the soup, but it works fine just with potato chunks

Stir in the parsley, grind in some pepper. Taste, then add salt. Some smoked haddock is very salty, so be cautious.

Serve with some good bread.

Notes

'Skink' is (Scots) Gaelic for essence.