Baxters Cullen Skink

When Rick Stein published his recipe for Cullen Skink in "Fruits of the Sea" he considered renaming it "Smoked Finnan Haddock Soup with Potatoes, Onion and Parsley" on the grounds that "Cullen Skink sounds like something you wouldn't want to give to your pet Jack Russell." I'm glad he decided not to tamper with tradition though, because his recipe for the soup is the best that I've found. Where does the name come from then? Well, "skink" comes from the Gaelic and means "essence". Originally it referred to a soup made from shin of beef, but in this case the soup is made with smoked haddock ... more

I don't usually eat much tinned soup - it's so easy to make your own and it's a lot tastier too, so why bother? Well, sometimes you haven't got the time, or the inclination (or the ingredients), so it's always handy to have a tin or two on standby. This is especially true of CULLEN SKINK. What's a Cullen? Cullen is a fishing village in Banffshire, on the Moray coast in North-east Scotland, where this dish originates from. And a Skink? According to my Scots dictionary, skink originally meant a shin, or knuckle of beef - more especially a soup made from shin of beef. It also is a general term ... more

Up until a couple of months ago I had never tried Cullen Skink soup before. The name itself was enough to put off let alone the chief ingredients. The mere thought of eating a soup containing smoked haddock wasn’t in the least bit appealing to me so had never felt the urge to let any pass my lips. However, that all changed over the weeks leading up to Christmas last year. Having won a rather handsome hamper laden with goodies, I couldn’t wait to delve in to see the delights so when I got home I rifled through the contents and was really pleased with my win. However once I reached the bottom I ... more