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Home » ALL RECIPES » Cullen Skink Traditional Scotttish Fish Soup

Cullen Skink Traditional Scotttish Fish Soup

By Karon Grieve 2 Comments

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Rich, creamy and packed with amazing flavour Cullen Skink is Scotland’s version of fish soup and is a classic in its own right. Comfort food Scottish style.

Cullan Skink 1

Cullen Skink

Don’t you love the name of this soup, Cullen Skink. It always makes me think that it should refer to a cartoon character, but actually, the name comes from the east coast village of Cullan in Scotland and ‘skink’ is the old Scots word for essence or soup.

Cullen Skink is delicious and easy to make. It is based on smoked fish and potatoes and a few other easy to assemble ingredients. Sometimes the simplest dishes are really the best.

I made this traditional Scottish dish for my book A Wee Taste Of Scotland where you’ll find over 50 fabulous Scottish inspired recipes for party food.

Cullan Skink 2

Ingredients for Cullen Skink

Finnan Haddie/haddock or actually any smoked haddock will be just fine.

Onion and potatoes plus milk and butter. That’s it for the main ingredients.

Salt and pepper and a bouquet garnet of herbs to add extra flavour.

cullan skink in bowl

How to make Cullen Skink

Put the haddock, chopped onion and water in a small pan along with the herbs and bring this to the boil.

Cover the pan and reduce the heat to a nice simmer for about 10 minutes or until the fish is cooked through and flakes nicely.

Take the fish from the pan and remove skin and bones. Set aside the fish flesh and toss the skin and bones back into the pan and simmer this uncovered for 20 minutes. This really adds amazing flavour to this tasty fish soup.

Strain this fish stock and discard all the solids. Now pour it back into the pan and add the chopped potatoes and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Remove the potatoes and mash with the butter.

Add milk to the pan and bring to the boil then reduce the heat and add in the mashed potatoes and the flaked fish.

Check your seasoning and serve sprinkled with chives.

How to serve cullen skink

I serve mine alongside crusty bread as a hearty lunch dish.

Or in little ramekins with tiny pieces of toast as a soup sip for parties. These are perfect for Hogmannay/New Year’s Eve and Burns Night parties.

Soup storage

This soup will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days and can be frozen for up to 6 months.

larder links

Looking for more tasty soup recipes to see you through the colder months? Then check these out before you go;

Quick and easy tomato and mascarpone soup

Caldo verde soup

Italian inspired mushroom and tomato soup

Cream of courgette/zucchini soup with feta

Watercress and spinach soup

Rich and creamy mushroom and garlic soup

Pumpkin soup with coconut and basil

Finally, if you do try this wee recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest and sign up for my newsletter too of course.

Cullen Skink Scottish Fish Soup

Karon
Super tasty and with only a few ingredients this is a classic fish soup from Scotland
No ratings yet
Print Recipe Leave Comment Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 45 mins
Total Time 55 mins
Course Soup
Cuisine Scottish
Servings 2

Ingredients
 

  • 1 finnan haddock about 350g/12 oz or any other smoked haddock
  • 1/2 white onion finely chopped
  • Bouquet Garnet of mixed herbs
  • 250 ml 8 fl oz water
  • 150 g 5 oz potatoes peeled and chopped into small pieces
  • 150 ml 5 fl oz whole milk
  • 10 g butter
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • chives chopped to decorate

Instructions
 

  • Put the haddock, chopped onion, water and bouquet garnet into a pan and bring it to the boil.
  • Cover the pan and reduce the heat to a simmer for 10 minutes or until the fish flakes easily.
  • Remove the fish with a slotted spoon and remove the skin and bones. Reserve the cooked fish flesh and toss the skin and bones back into the pan.
  • Simmer this uncovered for 20 minutes to create a lovely rich fishy stock.
  • Strain this fish stock and disscard the solids. Pour the stock back into your pan and add the chopped potatoes.
  • Simmer for approximately 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender and cooked through.
  • Remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon and mash them in a bowl with the butter.
  • Add the milk to the pan and bring to the boil.
  • Add the mashed potatoes to the pan and stir well.
  • Now add the flaked fish, season well and serve with a sprinkling of snipped up chives.
Keyword haddock
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Filed Under: ALL RECIPES, Fish and Seafood Recipes, Scottish Recipes, Super Soups

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Comments

  1. Cumbrian says

    November 29, 2013 at 10:09 pm

    Sounds delicious, had smoked haddock for dinner today with new potatoes and peas. If I’d seen this earlier I might have been tempted to try it instead. But there’s always another day.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. The Very Best Scottish Recipes For Burns Night Larder Love says:
    January 23, 2015 at 6:31 am

    […] Cullan Skink (don’t you just love that name!) is a classic Scottish fish soup with just a few simple ingredients and fabulous flavour. No self respecting seaside pub would be without this on the menu up north. […]

    Reply

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