Recipe

Europe → 🇬🇧 United Kingdom → Scotland (Moray Coast)
Cullen Skink
Scottish · easy · serves 4
prep 15 min · cook 30 min
~337 cal · 9g protein · 42g carbs · 14g fat (estimated, per serving)
🍽️
Creamy smoked haddock chowder with potato and chives
🇬🇧 Scotland (Moray Coast)
Cullen is a small harbor town, and its "skink" (an old word for a soup-stew) became Scotland’s most beloved bowl. The smoked haddock does all the seasoning — traditionally finnan haddie, cold-smoked over green wood just along the coast.
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Ingredients
Serves 4 —
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1 lb smoked haddock (undyed)
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3 cups whole milk
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1.5 lbs floury potatoes, diced
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1 large leek, sliced
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1 onion, diced
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3 tbsp butter
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1 bay leaf
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2 tbsp chives, snipped
Instructions
1
Poach the haddock (or smoked tofu and kombu) in the milk with the bay leaf, 5 minutes. Lift out and flake; keep the milk.
2
Soften the leek and onion in butter without coloring, 8 minutes.
3
Add the potatoes and the poaching milk; simmer 15 minutes until tender.
4
Mash a few potato pieces against the pot to thicken, then return the flaked fish and warm through gently.
5
Season with black pepper, shower with chives, and serve with oatcakes or crusty bread.
Cullen, Moray coast tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination
📍
Scotland (Moray Coast). Fishing villages that turned smoked haddock into velvet.
🗺️
United Kingdom. Pies, pasties, and seaside classics with deep roots.
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Europe. Village recipes guarded for generations.
The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.
👩‍🍳
Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker
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