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Fishing for a Scottish food favourite

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Celebrating seafood with Michael Smith of the Three Chimneys restaurant in Skye

 

Cullen Skink is classic north-east soup that’s sweet and salty and rich with old-school flavours.

It can be eaten at any time of the day as it makes a filling lunch, a stylish starter or a hearty supper.

This Cullen Skink-inspired recipe is packed full of wonderfully bold Scottish flavours, and finished with a poached egg and a shot (optional) of Skye’s sole single malt, Talisker.

Before poaching the eggs to go with it, make sure your eggs have been at room temperature for a while beforehand. Add a slash of vinegar to the water and gently simmer the eggs for 30 seconds then turn off the heat and leave for a further two minutes.

Scottish sea trout is generally in season from late May through the summer months until the end of August.

Found in our lochs and rivers, compared to wild salmon, sea trout has a very subtle and delicate flavour.

To make the most of this wonderful fish you have two choices: Either get your fishing rods out or make friends with your local fishmonger and tell him you want wild, line-caught sea trout.

It’s one of Scotland’s best ingredients and we should be promoting it as much as possible.

For this recipe I’ve dressed the trout with organic radish which has been grown locally on Skye by Glendale Salads.

Even when I worked in London, I’ve never come across such a good artisan product as the leaves supplied by Glendale, and it has played a big part in the success story of the Three Chimneys as we rely on the availability of good produce from local suppliers.

In this recipe the peas are pureed with mussel stock to add a natural sweet/salty taste of the sea but fish stock also works.

The wine sauce is a classic sauce base, light, easy and a perfect accompaniment with any fish.

Finish the sauce with fresh herbs at the end, if desired or try capers, lemon and tomato concasse.

Cullen Skink

CULLEN SKINK

SERVES 4

500g Natural Smoked Haddock (large fillets, trimmed and boned)

2 kippers

Skin from smoked salmon sides

4 large organic free range eggs

1 litre fish stock

1 small onion/leek/fennel bulb

1 stick celery

1 bottle dry white wine

200g fresh curly parsley, dill, chervil, fennel herb

3 large baking potatoes (peeled and cut into very small cubes)

150ml double cream

Slug of Talisker (optional)

Prepare the vegetables by cutting into small dice. Keep the trimmings.

For the smoked fish stock, add the vegetable trimmings to a deep pot and gently cook in a little oil. Chop up the fish skin and kippers and add to the pot along with a third of the herbs and the wine.

Add the fish stock, bring to a boil, skim and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain through a sieve.

For the skink, in a wide shallow pan, add the diced vegetables and cook gently until soft. Add the potato and enough smoked stock to just cover everything. Bring to a boil and then simmer until the potatoes are tender. Remove from the heat. Leave to cool for 15 minutes.

Cut the smoked haddock into small pieces. Add to the skink and gently incorporate.

For the smoked cream, put the trimmings of the haddock and the cream into a pot and bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain. Add to the skink and mix in.

Serve with a soft poached egg and an optional slug of whisky.

Trout

PAN FRIED SEA TROUT WITH MINTED PEAS, WHITE WINE SAUCE

SERVES 4

1 medium fillet of Sea Trout (750g approx) pin boned and cut into four portions

1 small bag frozen peas

Small bunch fresh mint, chopped

175ml mussel/fish stock (if using fish stock add seasoning)

For the white wine sauce

100ml dry white wine

100ml mussel/fish stock

2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced

2 slices lemon

200ml double cream

To make the sauce, bring to the boil all the ingredients, apart from the cream, in a wide bottomed pot.

Reduce the liquid by three-quarters, pour in the cream, bring to a boil, keeping a watchful eye that it doesn’t boil over, then turn down to a simmer for five minutes. Pass through a sieve – it’s as easy as that.

For the peas, place the peas into a liquidiser jug while frozen. Bring the stock to good boil and quickly pour over the peas. Blend immediately on full for five seconds. This should partially puree the peas giving a slightly “mushy” texture. If a smooth puree is desired, just blend on high for another 15 seconds or so.

By this method, the vibrant green of the peas should be maintained. When needed, simply heat the mix gently in a saucepan and add the mint just before serving.

Cooking the sea trout couldn’t be simpler but you must make sure the fish is at not cold, but at room temperature as this avoids over cooking.

Heat a non-stick frying pan, add a small amount of oil (rapeseed) until just beginning to smoke. Carefully add each piece of fish, skin side down, ensuring that it has not stuck by gently moving it across the pan to begin with.

Once all four portions are in, turn the heat to high for no more than one minute to colour and crisp the skin.

Sea Trout cooks extremely quickly, so now turn the heat off completely. Leave the fish on it skin side for three minutes. By this time the fish will have absorbed any residual heat and will almost be cooked right through.

Turn the fish over in the warm pan and leave for another minute or so. The fish should be lovely and succulent.

Serve by spooning some peas onto warmed plates, sit the fish on top and pour over some sauce. Serve with a glass of the remaining wine – chilled of course.