Cullen skink is a thick, creamy soup. Smoked haddock is cooked with onion in milk or water; the potato is added in pieces and some of it is mashed to thicken the broth, and the flaked fish is returned to the pot at the end. Some recipes include a little heavy cream, and parsley is sprinkled on top. The flavor is mild and smoky.
The name comes from the village of Cullen, beside a bay on the Moray coast. Skink was the name for a beef broth. According to Scotland’s and Moray’s tourism bodies, by the late 19th century many families could no longer afford meat and began to use fish, which was cheaper and easier to find in a region that fished and smoked haddock. Over time the fish version became the dish named after the village.
Today Cullen skink is served across Scotland, as a starter in restaurants and cafés and at formal dinners. In Cullen, an annual competition brings together cooks who prepare the soup in two categories: traditional and variations.