Cullen Skink, a traditional Scottish smoked fish soup—creamy, buttery, hearty

Butter, whole milk, potatoes and leeks add richness and stewlike heartiness to this Scottish favorite. Recipe below.

SCOTLAND KNOWS ITS WAY AROUND COLD WEATHER, pretty much year ’round. I’ve written here about a wintry summer visit there years ago with my brother. So it’s easy to understand how the fishing village of Cullen, on Scotland’s windswept northeast coast, would create such a hearty, warming, almost stewlike soup. And how Cullen skink has become something of a national treasure.

First, the name. Cullen, of course, honors the soup’s birthplace. Skink at first referred to a shin or knuckle of beef, often used to make soups or stews. It has since become the word for all soups and stews, including this gloriously creamy smoked fish soup. The creaminess comes from butter, whole milk and, quite practically in many recipes, stirred in mashed potatoes.

In the original Scottish soup, the fish in question is smoked haddock, also called finnan haddie. You can find finnan haddie in some fish shops or online, but it can be pricey. Fortunately, as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall says in The River Cottage Fish Book, you can use just about any smoked white fish. We used Lake Superior smoked Whitefish, a much more affordable option that worked well for us.

As with any beloved traditional dish, there are countless equally beloved variations. One that caught our eye was on Somebody Feed Phil’s Scotland episode, served as part of a full Scottish breakfast at Roseleaf bar cafe in Edinburgh. What we loved were leeks standing in for the more common onions, and the big chunks of potatoes that made it more textured and stewlike. Our own variation, beloved by us, incorporates these elements. Do try Cullen skink. It is smoky and buttery and creamy and chunky and all around, a delight.

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Cullen Skink

Cullen skink, a traditional Scottish smoked fish soup, is creamy, hearty and buttery rich.

Course Soup

Cuisine Scottish

Servings 4 as a main, with crusty bread; 6 as a starter

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 pounds or more potatoes—we used russet, but Yukon gold also work
• 2-1/2 cups whole milk, plus more for mashing potatoes
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for mashing potatoes
• salt, as needed
• 1 pound smoked fish fillets, skin on (see Kitchen Notes)
• 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped, stems reserved
• 1 or 2 bay leaves
• 1 leek, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch half moons
• freshly ground black pepper
• crusty bread for serving (optional)

Instructions

• Cook the potatoes. You want about 1-1/2 cups of mashed potatoes, and about 1-1/2 to 2 cups cooked bite-sized chunks of potatoes. Peel and cut the potatoes into the aforementioned chunks and cook in slightly salted water (go easy on the salt because the smoked fish will deliver plenty of it). When the potatoes are tender, drain them and reserve about half of them. Mash the remaining potatoes with butter and some milk until thoroughly mashed. Set aside.
• Put the fish fillets skin side down in a pan big enough to have them in a single layer with very little overlapping (we used a 10-inch sauté pan). Pour 2-1/2 cups of milk over the fish, submerging it as much as possible. Add the parsley stems and bay leaf (or two) to the pan. Bring to a gentle boil over medium-low heat, reduce heat and simmer for about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside for 5 minutes to let the milk absorb the fish and herb flavors.
• With a slotted spoon, transfer fish fillets to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Strain the milk mixture into a bowl, discarding herbs and any solids.
• Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the leeks and cook, stirring frequently to avoid browning, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the fish-infused milk and the mashed potatoes. Stirstirstir until the mashed potatoes are dissolved into the milk. Season with black pepper. Add the chunks of potato and most of the chopped parsley. Simmer, occasionally stirring gently, for about 5 minutes, allowing it to thicken slightly.
• Break the smoked fish into chunks, removing skin and picking out any bones you find. Add the fish to the milk mixture, again stirring gently to avoid breaking it up more than necessary. Cook until fish is heated through. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, if needed (we did not need to add salt).
• Spoon into bowls, sprinkle with remaining parsley and serve with crusty bread, if you wish.

Kitchen Notes

Smoked fish. Again, if you can find smoked haddock, great. But use whatever smoked fish you can find, preferably with skin on. Our Whitefish had been gutted and cleaned, then cut into sections with skeleton intact and smoked. We cut the sections lengthwise into fillets, leaving the skin on and bones in. Some recipes also use smoked salmon fillets. Anything you use will be delicious.