Seafood Made Simple: This Scottish smoked haddock soup is one to slurp and savour

The Keep made by Italian filmmakers Federico Conti and Marta Grillo was shot in Sally’s home and smokery in West Cork.

Sally, the last person in Ireland who exclusively smokes wild fish, shares the consequences of climate change, the globalisation of the food industry and the many challenges that face her small operation, Woodcock Smokery, and indeed the fishing industry at large in this film.

We served large platters of the utterly delicious fish smoked by the lady herself for lunch. Woodcock Smokery’s world renowned smoked wild salmon and hot smoked albacore tuna were joined by a new product making its debut at lunch – cold smoked halibut served thinly sliced with a little gherkin ketchup to show it off.

For the Cullen skink I used some of Sally’s cold smoked hake, the trim of the cold smoked halibut and a couple of kilos of Glenbeigh mussels for extra depth. It was a celebration after all.

This weekend I’ve also shared my fish stock recipe which makes a great difference to the final taste of this dish. You can of course use a stock cube if you are tight on time.

Chef know-how

A stock should never come to the boil, so regulating the temperature is key to avoiding a cloudy and bitter tasting stock.

If your smoked haddock has the skin on, remove the skin using a very sharp knife and add to the 1.5 litres of fish stock to infuse and make the most of all that smoky flavour.

Make sure to take the time to dice the potatoes into even sized pieces to ensure even cooking.

Freeze the leftover fish stock in airtight containers for up to two months.

If you are avoiding dairy, you can simply replace the butter with an extra tablespoon of rapeseed oil. Omit the cream and instead remove two ladles of the cooked potatoes from the soup and blend before returning to the soup. This will offer a similarly velvety texture to the soup.

Cullen Skink

By:aishling Recipe Moore

Fabulous Answer Chowder Soup Is To Scotland’s This

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 60 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 10 mins

Course

 Starter

ingredients

• The for Fish Stock

• Bones Fish Heads And (stomachs Removed) 275g

• Oil Rapeseed Tbsp 1

• 50g Onion Chopped

• 50g Celery Chopped

• 50g Chopped Leek

• Garlic Cloves 4

• ½ Black Tsp Whole Peppercorns

• Water 5 3 L

• for The Soup

• 50g Butter

• Rapeseed Oil Tbsp 1

• 1 Leek, Large Diced

• Onion, Diced Small 1

• Pinch Pepper 1 White

• Garlic, 4 Cloves Minced

• White Dry 100ml Wine

• 5 1 Fish L Stock

• 500g Diced Potatoes

• Cream 150ml

• Smoked Smoked Any 200g Fish) Natural Haddock (or Natural

• 1 Cornflour Tbsp

• Dill, Such Chopped Tbsp Soft Chervil Parsley, 2 Herbs As

• Cracked Pepper Black Freshly

method

1. Fish In Oil Chopped Bones Stock Pot Make To On Medium Sized Heat And Heat Rapeseed The For Medium 5 Peppercorns Minutes Leek, The Onion, The Celery, Fish Sweat Garlic, A

2. Litres Cook Add Minutes, Simmer The Being Water To To For 30 Boil Not Allow And 5 Stock Careful The 3 The E To Of

3. Impurities Of Ladle Stock A A Clear Using Remove The Produce The Surface Stock And To Skim Any

4. Stock Minutes Set Vegetables The Strain The Bones After Aside 30 Discard And And

5. A Soup Diced And Garlic The The For The Of Sweat Season Medium Sea Large Oil Put Leek Minutes Based Pinch Pot White Minced With Onion, A And To 10 In Butter Rapeseed Salt On Pepper Heavy And A Make Heat

6. Reduce Boil White And The And Heat High Until Medium Increase Add Pletely Bring To The Wine, To The Evaporated

7. And 10 Potatoes When Fish Diced Stock A Potatoes Break But Their And Holding Approximately Simmer Cooked The Add The Of Still Until The For Spoon Apart With Minutes And Are Pressed Shape Back Or

8. Of Water To 1 To Soup Add The The Dissolve Cornflour Thicken Tablespoon Cold And In

9. Haddock The And Flaking Pot Smoked The 3 For Until Add Minutes To Cook

10. Cream, Pepper Herbs Finish Chopped Freshly And Cracked With The Soft