Cullen Skink soup with Soda Breid
Cullen Skink
Ingredients:
500g undyed smoked haddock
500ml whole milk
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon black peppercorns crushed
2 potatoes cut into 1cm dice
1 stick celery, chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 leek
25g butter
100ml double cream
350ml chicken stock
Method:
Place milk in a pan with the bay leaf and black peppercorns and add fish. Simmer gently for about 8 minutes.
Remove fish and strain milk into a bowl.
Cut the leek in half and retain green. Chop the white.
Heat butter in a pan and add the celery, onion and white of leek, cook until soft and add the milk, cream, stock and potatoes.
Simmer until potatoes are soft – about 15 minutes. Blend to a smooth soup.
Slice the leeks and sauté in butter.
Remove fish skin and take large flakes of the fish and place in 4 bowls with the leeks.
Spoon over the soup and garnish with chopped chives and parsley leaves.
Cheese & Scallion Soda Breid
Ingredients:
450g self-raising soda bread flour or 450g plain flour with 2 teaspoons baking soda added
1 teaspoon salt
2 onions, peeled and finely sliced
1 tablespoon rapeseed oil
4 chopped spring onions
50g sharp mature cheddar, grated
450ml buttermilk (or 2 tablespoons of vinegar added to whole milk)
Method:
Set your oven to 220°C.
Place the flour and salt in a bowl.
Fry the onions in the oil until soft and golden.
Allow to cool.
Make a well in the centre and add the cooked onions, scallions, and cheese.
Pour in the buttermilk and mix to a smooth dough.
Turn onto a floured surface and form into a ball.
Place on a floured baking tray, flatten slightly and slash a cross in the middle of the dough.
Bake for 10 minutes at 220°C.
Lower the heat to 160°C and continue to cook for about 25 minutes or until the bottom of the bread sounds hollow when tapped.
Cool on a wire rack. Serve hot or toast if keeping for a few days.
