Cullen Skink with Anchovy Puff Pastries

I first shared this recipe for Christmas 2020 – yes, during those Covid days, how time flies! Cullen Skink is a great soup to serve over the festive season. It’s quite light, so it makes a good starter for a festive meal. And, if you want to make it really special, do serve it with ‘Anchovy Puff Pastries’. In fact, these little pastry puffs are fantastic as a canapé with a glass of champagne!..

Cullen Skink (Serves 4)

Cullen Skink is a Scottish recipe from the village of Cullen in the Highlands, which is the home of finnan haddock  (a local smoked haddock), the traditional ingredient of this soup. ‘Skink’ means ‘essence’, so in other words this soup is the ‘Essence of Cullen’. It is a completely satisfying soup with an elegant air, thus it as at home on a fancy dinner table served to guests, as it is served to family members for a casual midweek meal. I recommend that you serve this soup with Anchovy Puff Pastries (recipe here)

350g potatoes (such a Maris Piper), peeled and cut into pieces

350g smoked haddock fillet

1 medium onion, diced

25g butter

425ml milk

150ml single cream

1 rounded tablespoon parsley, chopped

Sea salt and black pepper

1. Put the potato pieces in a pan of cold, salted water, bring to the boil and simmer for about 10 minutes or until cooked through. Drain and mash.
2. Put the haddock in a saucepan with 425ml of water, bring to the boil and simmer for 7-10 minutes until it is cooked. Lift out the fish, discard the skin and any bones (strain and reserve the cooking liquid). Flake the fish into large pieces.
3.  Wipe out the saucepan, use it to cook the diced onion in the butter over a low heat for about 4-5 minutes until soft. Then add the reserved cooking liquid and mashed potato, cook over a medium heat, stirring to incorporate the potato.
4. Reduce the heat, slowly add the milk and then the fish. Simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Stir in the cream and parsley, and season with salt and pepper.
6. Ladle into bowls and serve with the hot anchovy puff pastries (recipe here).

Anchovy Puff Pastries

These Anchovy Puffs are a recipe which you will definitely thank me for, they are absolutely delicious, not just with Cullen Skink, but also as canapés with a glass of champagne! The combination of the cold, salty ice cream inside the hot puff pastries is divine. I have recently discovered ‘Jus Roll’ gluten free puff pastry, and I must say I was very impressed with it, so if you are gluten free, you can still enjoy these delicious puffs…in fact the Anchovy Puffs pictured above were made with it!

They are very easy to make, the ice cream is not ‘proper’ ice cream so does not need stirring – you just mix and freeze! The puff pastries can be frozen – just defrost and reheat before serving.

1 egg yolk

60g cream cheese

120ml double cream, lightly whipped

25g anchovy fillets, drained and chopped

A pinch of cayenne pepper

1 packet of ready rolled puff pastry (gluten free if required)

1 egg, beaten

1-2 tablespoons of porridge oats

A little flour of rolling (gluten free if required)

1. In a small bowl lightly whisk the egg yolk until creamy. Whisk in the cream cheese and then stir in the lightly whipped double cream, chopped anchovies, cayenne pepper and parsley. Transfer to a shallow container and freeze for about 2 hours until hard (there is no need to stir this ice cream).
2. On a lightly floured surface unroll the pastry. Using a 3” round cutter, cut out circles and transfer to a baking sheet. Then take a small knife and ‘knock up’ the edges of the pastry to encourage rising. Chill for 30 minutes before baking.
3. Brush the pastry circles with the beaten egg and sprinkle with some porridge oats. Bake in a preheated oven, 220’c fan, for 7-10 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and puffed.
4. Remove the pastries and whilst still hot split them in half across the middle and spoon the anchovy ice cream into each.
5. Serve straight away either with the Cullen Skink (recipe here) or as canapés with a glass of champagne!