Luxury Cullen Skink

Total Time: 50 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 500 g smoked haddock (undyed also called finnan haddock)
• 200 g potatoes, finely diced
• 2 onions (1 cut in half, the other finely chopped)
• 50 g butter
• 4 cloves
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped (reserve some for garnish)
• 1 liter milk
• 300 ml double cream
• sea salt
• pepper (freshly ground)
• 4 smoked scallops (optional)

Recipe

• 1 cut one onion in half, and stick 2 cloves in each half.
• 2 into a pan put the milk, the halved onions, and the bayleaves and thyme.
• 3 boil the milk then simmer for 5 minutes, to impart the flavour of the herbs and onion into the milk.
• 4 add the fish and poach for 5 minutes.
• 5 remove the fish, flake it and ensure there are no bones in it and set aside.
• 6 strain the milk, keeping it to use as the basis for the soup.
• 7 fry the chopped onion and potato in a knob of butter until the onion is transparent, but not brown. add the milk and simmer until the potatoes are cooked. add the salt and pepper to taste.
• 8 spoon the soup into a blender or use a stick blender, but only give it a light whizz, as you need to keep some of the texture of the potatoes in the soup.
• 9 add the fish, and the chopped fresh parsley and simmer for a further 2 or 3 minutes.
• 10 before serving, add the fresh double cream taking care not to boil the soup once this has been added.
• 11 serve with warm crusty bread and stand back and wait for the applause!