Cullen skink smoked haddock soup

A thick, creamy smoked haddock and potato soup from the fishing village of Cullen on Scotland's north-east coast. Simple, warming and filling enough for supper with bread.

Ingredients

• 450 g Smoked haddock, undyed if you can
• 600 ml Milk
• 1 g Bay leaves, 1 leaf
• 30 g Butter
• 1 Onions, finely chopped
• 1 Leeks, sliced
• 500 g Potatoes, floury, peeled and diced
• 50 ml Double cream
• 1 g Black pepper
• 8 g Fresh parsley, chopped
• 0.5 Bread, crusty, to serve

Method

1. Put the haddock in a wide pan with the milk and bay leaf, bring just to a simmer, then turn off the heat and leave for 5 minutes. Lift out the fish, flake it and discard the skin and bones. Keep the milk.
2. Melt the butter in a large pan and cook the onion and leek gently until soft but not brown.
3. Add the potatoes, the poaching milk (without the bay) and 300ml water. Simmer until the potatoes are very soft.
4. Roughly mash about a third of the potatoes into the soup to thicken it, then stir in the fish and cream and warm through. Season with pepper (it rarely needs salt) and scatter with parsley.