Directions: |
Directions:1) Put the fish into a pan large enough to hold it comfortably (cut it in half if it’s too long, but leave the skin on as that brings flavour with it). Cover with about 300ml cold water, add the bay leaf and then bring slowly to the boil over a medium-low heat.
2) By the time the water boils, the fish should be just cooked – to test this, see if it breaks into flakes at its thickest part. If it’s not quite there yet, turn off the heat and leave it in the hot water for another minute or so. Otherwise, remove the fish from the pan and leave to cool – take the pan off the heat and reserve the cooking liquid.
3) While the fish is cooking, peel and finely chop the onion. Trim and wash the leek, making sure you get any grit from between the layers, then cut it into chunks. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium-low heat, then add the onion and leek, cover and sweat gently for about 10 minutes.
4) Scrub the potatoes well, but don’t bother to peel them unless they’re very dirty; the skins add flavour. Cut them into medium dice – small enough to eat it in one mouthful, but not so small that they look likely to disintegrate. Add to the pan and stir to coat with hot butter.
5) Pour the haddock cooking liquid into the pan, bay leaf and all, then bring to a simmer. Cook until the potato is tender, which will probably take 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of the chunks. Meanwhile, peel the skin off the haddock and discard (or feed to the dog); remove any bones and break the flesh into flakes.
6) Once the potatoes are tender, use a potato masher to crush, but not mash, the potato mixture.
7) Pour the milk into the pan, season to taste (the fish will probably be already quite salty, but you can never have too much pepper with a cullen skink – white, for preference, though black will also do perfectly well).
8) Add the flaked Haddock, and a splash of cream, bring back to a simmer, then divide between bowls, top with parsley, and serve. |
This recipe for Cullen Skink is from