Cullen Skink

So, Christmas has come and Christmas has gone and I’m left poorer and fatter, yet full of seasonal cheer.  As is tradition, myself and Mr. Cay spent it in our usual manner – eating, drinking, and searching for the number of NHS Direct whilst pissed because (after all), the festive season just wouldn’t be the festive season without one minor medical emergency.  Whereas last year it was because I’d gotten a little too merry on the sherry and chopped my finger off whilst making roast potatoes, this time it was the turn of Mr. Cay who has developed a cracking dental abscess, which has led to half of his face swelling up and him being nigh on incapable of swallowing solids.

Because we are nothing if not resourceful, we weren’t going to let anything as minor as a bit of mouth knack ruin our Christmas dinner. So, I did what anyone would have done under the circumstances – dose the fella up with as much Bruichladdich as humanly possible, and serve him a (practically) liquid Christmas dinner. Whilst he may not have been able to enjoy any roast potatoes  cooked in sizzling Iberico pork fat, he was at least able to get his potato fix with a large streaming bowl of Cullen Skink. 

There is something wonderfully comforting about Cullen Skink – a traditional Scottish soup comprising of cream, potatoes and smoked haddock. Hearty and warming,  it reminds me slightly of the chowders you find being served up at restaurants across the East Coast of the USA – tailor made to stick to your ribs on a cold night.  Best of all, it’s the kind of thing you can make out of all the leftover Christmas dinner ingredients you may find mouldering away at the back of your fridge – that wrinkly stinky onion and forlorn shrivelled leek. Whilst some recipes suggest that you mash the potatoes prior to adding them to the broth, I worried that this may give the soup a ‘gluey’ texture, so merely diced them instead.

There’s no hard and fast rule about making this, and it’s the kind of dish that can easily be adapted to the ingredients that you may have on hand. Don’t skimp on the smoked haddock though. Its smokiness really does make this dish, so use the best that you can afford. We ate ours with nothing more than a sprinkle of fresh parsley, a crack of black pepper, and a shot of the best Scotch our pay packets could buy.

CULLEN SKINK (Makes five – six decent sized portions)

You will need:

• Two fillets of undyed smoked haddock, chopped
• Two potatoes, peeled and cubed (I used Rooster potatoes, as they are quite firm, and retain their shape well when cooked)
• One onion, finely diced
• One leek, washed and sliced
• 250ml fish stock (if you’re really pushed, you can buy some fresh white fish stock from any major supermarket, but if possible, do make your own out of leftover haddock bones and skin)
• 300ml double cream
• Two bay leaves
• A sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Make It!

1. Sweat the onions and leeks in a tablespoon of oil until they turn translucent. Add the potatoes and cook for a minute or so until they have just begun to colour slightly.
2. Add the fish stock, the bay leaves and 150ml of double cream. Bring to the boil and cook until the potatoes have softened slightly (there should be a slight bit of give when you insert a knife into them).
3. Flake the chopped smoked haddock into the pot. Add the rest of the cream, season and simmer for another ten minutes.
4. Strain the bay leaves out of the pot, and serve immediately with fresh parsley and lots of black pepper.

A Very Scottish Breakfast – Lorne Sausage and Potato Scones

It’s Mr. Cay’s birthday on Tuesday. I was always raised to believe that it’s never polite to discuss a gentleman’s age in public, so I won’t tell you how old he’s going to be. However, I can tell you that he’s not happy about it. Not happy at all. Have you ever tried living with a grumpy Scotsman readers? I’ll tell you now, it’s not exactly a laugh riot.

Mr. Cay has often talked about his love of square sausage with a faraway look in his eyes as he’s cursed the fact that it’s nigh on impossible to find the stuff South of the Border. So, to encourage domestic harmony (and because I like a challenge), I decided to celebrate his advent into middle age by making him a traditional Scottish breakfast – Square (also known as Lorne) sausage and potato scones. Go to any halfway decent greasy spoon in Scotland, and you’ll find both of these being served, usually by women with thick arms who call anyone and everyone ‘Hen’. Fried in butter, and smothered in ketchup, they are heart-attack-inducingly good, especially when washed down with a cup of strong tea.

I’ve always loved potato scones, although, being from the North West of England, I’ve always known them as potato cakes. When I was a kid, my Dad would often buy us packs when he went shopping and we’d toast them and devour them in record time – usually before we’d unpacked the rest of the shopping. Making them is alarmingly easy and immensely satisfying – just add mashed potatoes to some flour and melted butter, slice and grill on a screamingly hot pan.

Seeing as my butchery skills are remedial at best, I was slightly worried about how my attempts at sausage making would turn out. Especially when – whilst explaining my project to my local butcher – he scratched his head and informed me that a) he’d never heard of Lorne Sausage and b) adding allspice to pork was ‘all kinds of wrong’. I needn’t have fretted. The finished product was delicious – thick, fatty, and spicy, it was everything a good sausage would be, especially when accompanied with piping hot potato scones, fresh off the griddle. It was so good in fact, that Mr. Cay’s usual Mark E. Smith esque scowl turned into a wide eyed grin which lasted for the rest of the day – even when he stubbed his toe against the bathtub. Which makes me wonder. Why can’t all of life’s little problems be solved with pork and carb-heavy foodstuffs?

LORNE [SQUARE] SAUSAGE (Makes around eight slices)

You will need:

• 450g good quality pork sausagemeat
• 450g good quality beef mince (not too lean!)
• 120g dried breadcrumbs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons allspice
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• Salt and Pepper to season

Make It!

1. Plop your dried breadcrumbs in a bowl and add 150ml water to them. Mix until it forms a smooth paste. (You can skip this part if you’re using fresh stuff made from leftover bread).
2. Add the pork and beef mince, allspice, coriander & salt and pepper to the breadcrumbs, and mix thoroughly. Use your (clean) hands to do this – it’s really rewarding to feel all the ingredients squish through your fingers. You want to make sure that everything is combined really well, otherwise you’ll get huge lumps of meat or rusk when you’re eating your sausages.
3. Pack the mixture tightly into a loaf tin which has been lined with clingfilm, and chill for two-three hours.  When you’re ready to cook your sausages, cut off thick slices and grill in a piping hot griddle pan. Serve with potato scones and lashings of ketchup.

I made my potato scones with mashed potato that I’d made the night before, mainly because I didn’t really feel like indulging in a bit of spud bashing at 10.30am on a Sunday morning. However, these work just as well with freshly made mash, which may actually add a little bit more moisture to the finished product. Just be sure to add plenty of butter and salt & pepper, as these help to give the potato scones some flavour.

POTATO SCONES (Makes six pieces)

You will need:

• 225g mashed potatoes
• 100g plain flour
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• Salt and Pepper to season

Make It!

1. Add the flour and melted butter to the mashed potatoes, and mix until a stiff dough is formed.
2. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll until about quarter of an inch thick.
3. Cut the dough into six (slightly uneven if you’re anything like me) triangles. Prick these all over with a fork, before cooking them on a griddle or in a heavy pan, which has been lightly greased with oil or butter.
4. The scones are ready when they are golden brown, and have formed small black blisters on each side.