Seafood Made Simple: This Scottish smoked haddock soup is one to slurp and savour

Goldie's Aishling Moore also shares her fish stock recipe which makes a great difference to the final taste of this dish

Cullen skink is made of smoked haddock, potatoes and onions. Pictures: Chani Anderson

Cullen skink, Scotland’s answer to chowder is a fabulous soup made of smoked haddock, potatoes and onions. Cullen is a small fishing village in the northeast of Scotland and Skink, a Scottish word for shin or knuckle of beef, which is also another term used to refer to soup.

I made Cullen skink recently for a very special event. The Keep, a short documentary about my dear friend Sally Barnes, had its Irish premier at the wonderful L’Atitude 51 for the Cork International Film Festival 2024. I was delighted to have been asked to collaborate with Beverly Matthews and the gang at L’Atitude to create a light lunch to be served after the screening.

The Keep made by Italian filmmakers Federico Conti and Marta Grillo was shot in Sally’s home and smokery in West Cork.

Sally, the last person in Ireland who exclusively smokes wild fish, shares the consequences of climate change, the globalisation of the food industry and the many challenges that face her small operation, Woodcock Smokery, and indeed the fishing industry at large in this film.

We served large platters of the utterly delicious fish smoked by the lady herself for lunch. Woodcock Smokery’s world renowned smoked wild salmon and hot smoked albacore tuna were joined by a new product making its debut at lunch – cold smoked halibut served thinly sliced with a little gherkin ketchup to show it off.

For the Cullen skink I used some of Sally’s cold smoked hake, the trim of the cold smoked halibut and a couple of kilos of Glenbeigh mussels for extra depth. It was a celebration after all.

This weekend I’ve also shared my fish stock recipe which makes a great difference to the final taste of this dish. You can of course use a stock cube if you are tight on time.

Chef know-how

A stock should never come to the boil, so regulating the temperature is key to avoiding a cloudy and bitter tasting stock.

If your smoked haddock has the skin on, remove the skin using a very sharp knife and add to the 1.5 litres of fish stock to infuse and make the most of all that smoky flavour.

Make sure to take the time to dice the potatoes into even sized pieces to ensure even cooking.

Freeze the leftover fish stock in airtight containers for up to two months.

If you are avoiding dairy, you can simply replace the butter with an extra tablespoon of rapeseed oil. Omit the cream and instead remove two ladles of the cooked potatoes from the soup and blend before returning to the soup. This will offer a similarly velvety texture to the soup.

Cullen Skink

recipe by:Aishling Moore

This fabulous soup is Scotland’s answer to chowder

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 60 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 10 mins

Course

 Starter

Ingredients

• For the fish stock

• 275g fish bones (stomachs and heads removed)

• 1 tbsp rapeseed oil

• 50g chopped onion

• 50g chopped celery

• 50g chopped leek

• 4 cloves garlic

• ½ tsp whole black peppercorns

• 3.5 l water

• For the soup

• 50g butter

• 1 tbsp rapeseed oil

• 1 large leek, diced

• 1 small onion, diced

• 1 pinch white pepper

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 100ml dry white wine

• 1.5 l fish stock

• 500g diced potatoes

• 150ml cream

• 200g natural smoked haddock (or any natural smoked fish)

• 1 tbsp cornflour

• 2 tbsp chopped soft herbs such as parsley, dill, chervil

• Freshly cracked black pepper

Method

1. To make the fish stock heat a medium sized pot on medium heat. Sweat the chopped leek, onion, celery, garlic, peppercorns and fish bones in the rapeseed oil for 5 minutes.

2. Add the 3.5 litres of water and simmer. Cook for 30 minutes, being careful to not allow the stock to come to the boil.

3. Using a ladle skim the surface of the stock to remove any impurities and produce a clear stock.

4. After 30 minutes strain the stock and discard the vegetables and bones. Set aside.

5. To make the soup put a large heavy based pot on a medium heat. Sweat the diced onion, leek and minced garlic in the butter and rapeseed oil for 10 minutes. Season with sea salt and a pinch of white pepper.

6. Increase the heat to medium high and add the white wine, bring to the boil and reduce until completely evaporated.

7. Add the fish stock and diced potatoes and simmer for approximately 10 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked and break apart when pressed with the back of a spoon but still holding their shape.

8. Dissolve the cornflour in 1 tablespoon of cold water and add to the soup to thicken.

9. Add the smoked haddock to the pot and cook for 3 minutes until flaking.

10. Finish with the cream, chopped soft herbs and freshly cracked pepper.