A SCOTTISH TRADITION ...CULLEN SKINK

Cullen skink is a famous ,traditional soup that is made with smoked haddock . The name of the soup comes from Cullen , a small town in the northeast of Scotland . Skink is a Scottish term for a knuckle or a hough of beef , but in hard economic times when people could not find scraps of beef , they used fish which was easier to come by and smoked haddock could be found easily ....so meat based stews transformed into fish based soups and the name skink remained . I spent 15 wonderful years learning the basics of cooking from a wonderful , generous home cook , Jessie Mersey .. never forgotten . Ok , melt 25 gm of marg / butter in a large pan . add 1 onion , peeled and chopped , saute for 3 minutes , stirring continuously . Add 1 bay leaf and sprinkle 25 gm of plain flour and cook over a low heat for 2 minutes ... contiuing to stir . Add 500gm of potatoes ' all rounders' , scrubbed and cubed . Now remove the pan from the heat , stir in 600ml of water and 300 ml of water . Return the pot to the heat and bring to the boil , stirring . Reduce the heat and simmer and cook for 10 minutes . Add 350 gm of skinned and smoked haddock fillet sliced into small pieces . Now add 75 gm of sweet corn kernels and 50 gm of baby peas . Cover and cook gently , stirring occasionally for 10 minutes or until the vegetables and fish are cooked . Add cracked pepper to taste and 1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg . Now stir in 3 tbs of cream and gently heat until piping hot . Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with really crusty torn bread .