Delia Smith Cullen Skink Recipes

CULLEN SKINK

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat, then add the onion and fry for 5-8 mins until translucent but not browned. Add the potatoes and 300ml water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat slightly and simmer for 10-15 mins.
• Meanwhile, put the haddock in another pan and cover with the the milk. Cook gently for 5 mins, or until just tender. Remove the haddock from the milk with a slotted spoon (reserving the milk), transfer to a plate and leave to cool slightly. When cool enough to touch, flake into large pieces, removing any bones.
• Put the reserved milk and flaked haddock in the pan with the potato mixture and cook for another 5 mins. Season and sprinkle over the parsley to serve.

TRADITIONAL SCOTTISH CULLEN SKINK

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Put the milk, parsley stalks, bay leaf, and the whole piece of haddock into a large saucepan.
• Finely chop the parsley leaves. Set aside.
• Bring the milk to a gentle boil over medium heat. Lower the heat to low simmer, about 3 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the heat. Set aside for 5 minutes so the herbs and haddock infuse their flavors into the milk.
• Remove the haddock from the milk with a slotted spatula. Set aside.
• Strain the liquid through a fine mesh strainer. Discard the herbs.
• In another large saucepan over medium-low heat, add the butter and the onion. Cook gently until the butter melts and the onions become translucent, about 5 minutes. Be careful not to burn the onion.
• Add the infused milk and the potato to the onion-butter mixture. Stir until the potatoes dissolve and the soup thickens slightly.
• Flake the smoked haddock into bite-size chunks, discarding any bones. Add to the soup.
• Lower the heat to a gentle simmer. Add the chopped parsley and cook until the haddock is warmed through, about 5 minutes. Don't overstir, because the fish chunks might disintegrate.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper. Be careful with the salt, as the fish will impart quite a salty flavor all on its own.
• Garnish the soup with the reserved parsley leaves and more freshly ground black pepper. Serve with crusty bread, if desired.

CULLEN SKINK

Steps:

• In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the haddock and milk. Simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. When the fish is done, remove it with a slotted spoon and set aside in a bowl. Add the potatoes and onion to the milk, and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes.
• Transfer the contents of the pan to a blender, in batches if needed, and blend until smooth and creamy. Return to the pan and flake the fish into the soup. Heat through gently, do not boil. Serve immediately. Season with pepper and garnish with parsley to individual tastes.

SMOKED HADDOCK CHOWDER

Steps:

• Put the fish in a deep frying pan with the bay leaf and 600ml/1 pint boiling water. Cover and simmer for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave to stand, covered, for a further 5 minutes. Drain, reserving the liquid, then flake the fish.
• Heat the oil and butter in a deep saucepan. Add the vegetables and garlic and fry over a high heat until starting to soften. Stir in the thyme and the reserved cooking liquid and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes until the vegetables have softened.
• Pour half the soup into a bowl and mash with a potato masher or fork. Return to the pan with the milk and fish. Simmer for 3 minutes, taste and season if needed. Sprinkle with chopped parsley to serve.

CULLEN SKINK

Steps:

• For the stock, heat the butter and vegetable oil in a large pan and gently fry the leeks, onions and fennel for 3-4 minutes, or until softened.
• Add the white wine to the pan and bring to the boil. Add the smoked haddock, pour in the water and bring back to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, skimming off any scum that rises to the surface, until the haddock is cooked through.
• Strain the haddock, reserving the cooking stock. Chop the haddock into bite-sized pieces.
• For the soup, heat the butter with the vegetable oil and fry the leeks, shallots and garlic for 3-4 minutes, or until softened. Add the potatoes and the chopped smoked haddock to the pan.
• Add the reserved cooking stock and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Stir in the cream and briefly blend the soup with a stick blender.
• Serve the soup with crusty bread and sprinkle with the chopped fresh parsley and a sprinkling of freshly grated nutmeg.

SMOKED HADDOCK CHOWDER WITH POACHED QUAILS' EGGS

Steps:

• Start by placing the haddock pieces in a large saucepan, pour in the milk and 18 fl oz (500ml) water, season with pepper (but no salt yet) and add the bay leaf. Now gently bring it up to simmering point and simmer very gently for 5 minutes before taking it off the heat and pouring it all into a bowl to steam for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, wipe the saucepan with kitchen paper and melt the butter, add the chopped onion and let it sweat very gently, without browning, for about 10 minutes. By that time the haddock will be ready, so remove it with a draining spoon (reserving the liquid) to a board, discard the bay leaf and peel off the skin. Next, stir the flour into the pan to soak up the juices, then gradually add the reserved fish-cooking liquid, stirring after each addition. When that's all in, add half the haddock, separated into flakes. Now pour the soup into a liquidiser or food processor and blend thoroughly. After that, pass it through a sieve back into the saucepan, pressing through any solid bits of haddock that are left to extract all the flavour. Discard what's left in the sieve then separate the remaining haddock into flakes and add these to the soup. Taste it now and season with salt, pepper and lemon juice and leave to one side to keep warm. Now poach the eggs: pour boiling water straight into a medium-sized frying pan and place over a heat gentle enough for there to be the merest trace of bubbles simmering on the base of the pan. Break the 8 quails' eggs (or 4 hens' eggs) into the water and let them cook for just 1 minute. Then remove the pan from the heat and let the quails' eggs stand in the water for 3 minutes, and the hens' eggs for 10, after which time the whites will be set and the yolks creamy. Use a draining spoon and a wad of kitchen paper underneath to remove the eggs, place 2 quails' eggs (or one hen's egg) in each warmed serving bowl, ladle the soup on top and serve sprinkled with the chopped parsley.