Scottish Cullen Skink Crepes

Celebrate Shrove Tuesday with a Scottish twist. Taking all the flavours of a traditional Cullen Skink soup - Smoked Haddock, Potatoes, Leeks and Milk - and using them as a savoury pancake day filling. Say Bonjour to Crepes with a Scottish accent. Much to good to save only for Pancake Day!

For the uninitiated, Cullen Skink possibly doesn't sound the most enticing of foods but I can assure you that it is. Hailing from Cullen, a small fishing village on the North East coast of Scotland, it's a hearty soup made of milk, smoked fish, potatoes and leeks. If you fancy giving it a go head to my recipe for Cullen Skink - A traditional Scottish Smoked Haddock Soup. I'm a huge fan of savoury crepes/pancakes so with pancake day beckoning and purchases of leeks and smoked haddock made at Stonehaven Farmer's Market I decided to combine them both in my Cullen Skink Crepes.

Steamed Sea Bass Fillets with Soy, Chilli and Garlic

Post in collaboration with Iceland Foods

Punchy Asian flavours abound in this healthy, quick and easy fish dish which is syn free on Slimming World. Steamed Sea Bass Fillets with Soy, Chilli and Garlic using frozen fish cooked in a bamboo steamer over a wok. On the table in less than 10 minutes.

So much excitement to share in this post. Firstly a trip to London, secondly visiting an Iceland Foods flagship store, thirdly eating a feast of fish cooked seven ways by Iceland Head Chef Neil Nugent. But I've saved the best till last... I got to visit the Saturday Kitchen Studios! Check out little old me stood behind the self same kitchen counter where James Martin et al have stood. Alas I never got to try my hand at the infamous omelette challenge. I'll need to blag an invite on the show for real for that one.

Fangirl moment over, let me tell you the real reason for my visit to London. As regular readers will know I've been collaborating with Iceland Foods for almost 18 months now sharing the #PowerOfFrozen message (frozen food - not Anna and Elsa) and working alongside them to change perceptions of both frozen food and their brand. I'm the first to admit that prior to working with them I'd only ever visited at Christmas to stock up on party food and the ubiquitous Prawn Ring! To further enhance our partnership I was delighted to be invited to attend their 'School of Fish' day in London to find out more about the them, their products and plans for the future. Along with a group of nine other bloggers, vloggers and influencers I met the team from Iceland after having spent the night at the gorgeous Windmill Hotel. Fueled up on breakfast and coffee we were ready to be escorted to Iceland’s flagship Clapham store. 

The store looked nothing like my local Iceland. If it wasn't for the branding I would have struggled to tell that I wasn't in the adjacent premium supermarket! An abundance of fresh produce, seriously impressive drinks selection and the swankiest freezers you ever did see. Over the last two years Iceland have worked hard to up their game, change perceptions and increase their product range, but they put their hands up to the fact that the majority of their stores don't as yet look the part. This one most certainly did and I sincerely hope that this fresh modern look will continue to be rolled out across all of their sites. On a walk round the store we were introduced to a selection of new and innovative products, best sellers and old favourites. I was particularly excited to see the elusive frozen avocado halves. These have proved so popular that alas they aren't available in all stores yet. I was also introduced to some new products all of which I've since bought in my local store. Rainbow Fries, Cauliflower Rice, Multi Greens Rice and Mac & Cheese Pizza. My facebook page went crazy for the pizza. But then again we do love a Macaroni Pie in Scotland. 

From the store it was a short walk to Cactus Studios, home of the The Michel Roux Jr Cookery School and filming location for Saturday Kitchen. Here we were hosted by Iceland's Head Chef Neil Nugent who shared with us his culinary expertise and in particular the sentiment that if you want fresh fish - buy frozen. Now this may seem like a contradiction of terms but here's the Iceland explanation.

"Some ‘fresh’ fish displayed on the supermarket fish counters has previously been frozen or transported on ice. Tucked away in the small print you will find ‘previously frozen’. It often takes well over a week to reach the store, losing valuable nutrients and freshness in the process; whereas freezing is nature’s pause button so the goodness is locked in."

Makes sense when you think about it. If a fish is caught and frozen immediately (which often occurs at sea in factory boats) you literally stop the clock. The freshness is frozen in and nutritionally nothing is lost. However fresh fish on a supermarket fish counter could have been caught days if not weeks ago. There's something fishy going on there! 

Preparing fish and seafood can be a wee bit scary but Iceland have done all the hard work for you. No worries about heads, tails, guts and scales, all you need to do is defrost.The best way is overnight in the fridge but if you are in a hurry and are going to cook the fish immediately there's a quicker option. Just watch the video below for full instructions. I'm definitely going to use Neil's tip of defrosting on a J-Cloth. For our lunch Neil cooked us a risotto using white and claw crab meat and Argentinian red shrimp. I'd already tried both products (the shrimp featured in my BBQ Steak and Shrimp Kebabs with Maple and Mustard Glaze) so I knew it was going to be a tasty dish. But it didn't stop there. To finish off the dish was a perfectly cooked fillet of Sea Bream with wonderfully crispy skin. In order to achieve this make sure you dry the fish skin really, really well.

Throughout the afternoon Neil took us on a voyage of discovery on the good ship 'School of Fish' to sail through his seven (seas) methods of cooking fish (enough of the fishy puns already?!) And so we watched, learned and ate...

1. Deep Fried Lemonade Batter Cod Goujons 
2. Grilled Trout Fillet with Toasted Almond Butter 
3. Baked Cod en Papillote 
4. Poached Salmon served with Warm Potato Salad 
5. Steamed Sea Bass Fillets with Soy, Chilli and Garlic 
6. Pan Griddled Tuna with Salsa Roca 
7. Pan Fried Sea Bream with Chermoula 

Yes. We did also have dessert. Luxury Sicilian Lemon Tartlets. It all tasted just as amazing as it looked and it all came out of the freezer. 

The recipe I'm sharing with you below was my absolute favourite. So quick and easy to make yet packed full of fresh and punchy Asian flavours. And as a bonus if you are following Slimming World then my version is syn free! (Neil's original recipe used the juice of 1 orange which I have substituted for 2 Tbsp of lemon juice) If you like the sound of any of the other dishes above you can find the recipes for them all in an instore leaflet or online at Iceland Fish Recipes.

The video below gives a step by step run through of the Steamed Sea Bass Fillets with Soy, Chilli and Garlic. I have a small bamboo steamer basket so could only fit in a couple of fillets on a side plate. I think a visit to my local Chinese supermarket for a larger one is on the cards as I can see this becoming one of my new favourite ways to cook fish.

Steamed Sea Bass Fillets with Soy, Chilli and Garlic

(Syn Free on Slimming World)

Serves Two

Ingredients:

4 Defrosted Sea Bass fillets

2 Tbsp of Dark Soy Sauce

Thumb sized piece of Fresh Ginger, grated

2 Garlic cloves, grated

1 Red Chilli - 1/2 finely chopped, 1/2 sliced for garnish

2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

1 Whole Carrot, Sliced into Match Sticks

2 Spring Onions, Cut into Strips

Fresh Coriander to garnish

Method:

Defrost the Seabass fillets and pat dry. Place them on a plate and then into a bamboo steamer. 

In a bowl mix together the dark soy sauce, grated (a microplane grater works best for this) ginger and garlic, finely chopped chilli and lemon juice.

Add approximately 4cm of water to a wok, place in your bamboo basket and bring to a simmer.

Pour the soy dressing over the sea bass fillets and top with the prepared carrots and spring onions.

Place the lid on the steamer and allow to steam for 5-6 mins.

Garnish with chopped fresh coriander, sliced red chilli and serve immediately with steamed rice.

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Disclosure: This is a commissioned post for Iceland Foods. As always, all views expressed are my own.

Thank you for supporting the brands who make it possible for me as a passionate Scottish Food Blogger to continue to share my Edible Food and Travel Adventures with you. I’m super choosy who I work with and promise to bring you only the cream of the crop.

Cullen Skink - A traditional Scottish Smoked Haddock Soup

Post in collaboration with a2 Milk™

Cullen Skink is a full flavoured, hearty, and comfortingly traditional creamy Scottish soup made with smoked fish, potatoes, onions and milk. It's Chowder with a distinctly Scottish accent. 

When I'm asked to describe my style of cooking I always struggle as it's a bit of a mish mash of styles combined with a passion for seasonality, cooking from scratch and family friendly recipes. However if there is a particular area of speciality it's probably 'Quirky Scottish' or 'Scottish with a Twist'. Today's recipe definitely falls into the Scottish category but it's my take traditional rather than one of my more outlandish creations (i.e. no Irn Bru or Tunnock's Teacakes involved!) For the uninitiated, Cullen Skink possibly doesn't sound the most enticing of foods but I can assure you that it is. Hailing from Cullen, a small fishing village on the North East coast of Scotland, it's a hearty soup made of milk, smoked fish, potatoes and onion. Think Chowder with a Scottish accent.

Touch wood we don't have any issues with food allergies or intolerences within my immediate family (although my daughter appears to be allergic to vegetables...) however I'm all too aware that many people face such challenges on a daily basis so to make my Cullen Skink I used a2 Milk™ which comes from specially selected cows and is naturally easier to digest. As a farmer's daughter this immediately piqued my interest! Research has found that different cows produce milk with different proteins (A1 and A2) and that each of these proteins are digested differently. It's the A1 protein that many people struggle to digest. The folks at a2 Milk™ work with farmers to hand select cows that naturally produce only A2 protein. Nothing added, nothing taken away, just easy to digest cows’ milk. You can find out lots more about a2 Milk™ and see if it might be suitable for you or someone you know who experiences intolerance issues with regular milk at a2milk.co.uk  Both my kids drink a LOT of milk and they confirmed that a2 Milk™ tastes exactly the same as regular milk so no worries in that respect.

So with a2 Milk™ in hand it's back to my recipe for the tastiest of soups with the least promising of names. Much like Scotch Broth everyone and their granny has a different idea what should and shouldn't be in it and you can of course juggle with adding, removing and adjusting ingredients to suit. Garlic, Bay Leaves and Cream could be a good place to start. However you make it, it's really a meal in itself especially if accompanied by bread or oatcakes. I've jumped onto the on trend edible flowers bandwagon with a garnish of chive flowers. Their purple hues contrast amazingly well with the yellow fish but they are far from essential and definitely not traditional. Perhaps they can be my quirky twist and an edible nod to the Scottish thistle. 

Cullen Skink - A Traditional Smoked Haddock Soup

750ml Milk

2 fillets Smoked Haddock (approx 300g)
1 Leek
1 large Onion
400g Potatoes
Knob of Butter or splash of Scottish Rapeseed Oil

750ml Vegetable Stock

Salt & Pepper

Flatleaf Parsley

Chives and Chive Flowers

Gently heat the milk in a shallow saute pan. Add the Smoked Haddock and poach for 10 minutes until lightly cooked. Set aside to cool.

Slice and wash the leek thoroughly.

Peel and finely chop the onion.

Peel and roughly dice the potatoes (no need to peel if you use new/baby potatoes)

In a large soup pan melt/heat the butter/oil, add the onion and leeks and cook gently for 5 minutes until softened but not coloured.

Add the potato and the vegetable stock, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes until the potato is soft.

Add the milk from the poached haddock to the soup but not the fish.

Gently mash the soup to crush some of the potatoes.

Skin and flake the smoked haddock with a fork.

Add flaked fish, a generous amount of chopped parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Heat through and serve garnished with chopped chives and chive flowers.

For more ideas utilising a2 Milk™ do check out these creative milky recipes from some of my food blogger colleagues

Creamy Orange Mushroom Pasta

Healthy Berry Breakfast Smoothie

Vanilla Buckwheat Waffles

Blueberry Panna Cotta

Baked Pumpkin Donuts with Chocolate Glaze

Baked Brioche French Toast with Caramelized Banana and Cashews

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Disclosure: This is a commissioned post for a2 Milk™. As always, all views expressed are my own. 

Thank you for supporting the brands who make it possible for me as a passionate Scottish Food Blogger to continue to share my Edible Food and Travel Adventures with you. I’m super choosy who I work with and promise to bring you only the cream of the crop.

Salmon Filo en Croûte - only 5 ingredients!

Post in collaboration with Thermapen

A show stopping dish for Good Friday this Salmon filo en croûte is super quick and easy to make with only 5 ingredients. Ensure your Salmon is cooked to perfection this Easter with a Superfast Thermapen thermometer.

Can you believe it’s almost Easter? The year is just flying past and it really doesn't seem all that long ago that we were celebrating Christmas! This year I'm planning on Roast Beef for our Easter Sunday lunch. Whilst many of us will automatically think of serving Lamb - it’s somewhat intrinsically intertwined in our minds along with chicks, eggs, bunnies and chocolate - historically lambs are bred in the spring rather than eaten then. As such a newly born spring lamb may look cute but it won't be ready to roast until the Autumn so not quite as seasonal as you might think. If you fancy joining me with Easter Roast Beef do check out my recipe for Spring Roast of Scotch Beef with a Wild Garlic Pesto Crust.

Just like Christmas, in addition to the big day itself, there is the run up and the post script. Yup I'm talking about you Good Friday and Easter Monday. In the Catholic faith, Good Friday is a day of fasting. Because Christ sacrificed His flesh on Good Friday, Catholics abstain from eating flesh (meat) and instead eat fish. This religious practice has become an Easter tradition with many of us choosing fish as the 'dish of the day' on Good Friday. When it comes to fish I’m a complete sucker for salmon (25 ideas right here!) Combine it with pastry and you have instant success. In addition to only having five ingredients, my version of Salmon en croute is healthier than the traditional. Filo immediately cut calories in comparison to puff, you can substitute low cal spray oil for butter and when it comes to cream cheese use a light version. That way you can save all those calories for chocolate Easter eggs! 

Whatever you choose to eat this Easter make sure that it is cooked to perfection with the aid of the British made Superfast Thermapen thermometer. I really cannot recommend it enough (I even bought one for my Mum!) it’s one of my absolute kitchen essentials. I wouldn’t cook a steak without it and when the weather gets warmer it’s an absolute barbecue essential. It takes out all the guesswork when it comes to rare/medium/well done and avoids anxiety about BBQ food safety. It’s also great for jam making, sugar and chocolate work, deep fat frying and more. If you need an exact temperature to achieve a perfect result it will give you a reliable reading in just 3 seconds. My left handed BBQ geek teenage son absolutely loves it as it has an auto-rotating display that can be used in any position in either hand plus an intelligent backlit display which senses darkness self illuminates. The Thermapen ideal when it comes to en croûte and unless you have x-ray vision there's no way of telling if the salmon inside the pastry parcel is over or undercooked. When it comes to fish the magic number you are looking for is 60c.

5 Ingredient Salmon Filo en Croûte

4 Salmon Fillets, skin removed

240g Fresh Spinach

175g Soft Cream Cheese with Garlic & Herbs

4 sheets Filo Pastry

50g Butter, melted (or spray oil)

Salt and Pepper

Preheat the oven to 190c

Cook the spinach in the microwave or a pan according to the packet instructions. Allow to cool, drain well and squeeze out any excess moisture really well before roughly chopping.

Put the cream cheese in a bowl add the spinach and season well with Salt & Pepper. Mix thoroughly.

Lay two slightly overlapping sheets of filo on a baking sheet and spray with oil or brush with melted butter. Lay another two sheets of pastry on top in the opposite direction to form a cross. Brush/spray with butter/oil.

Place the four salmon fillets adjacent to each other in the middle of the pastry cross.

Spread the spinach and cheese mixture on top of the salmon.

Fold in the pastry to form a parcel and scrunch it up on the top. Spay/brush again with oil/butter.

Bake for 15 minutes, then cover with tin foil to avoid the thin filo pastry burning. Return to the oven for a further 15 minutes or until the temperature reaches 60c on your Thermapen Superfast Thermometer.

If you want the perfect Lamb dish this Easter take a look at my 7 Hour Spiced Pulled Leg of Lamb and Bintu's Roast Harissa Lamb with Harissa Apricot Stuffing. Both cooked to perfection with Thermapen.

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Linking up to Bake of the Week & CookBlogShare

Disclosure: This is a commissioned recipe for Thermapen. As always, all views expressed are my own.

Thank you for supporting the brands who make it possible for me to continue to share my Edible Scottish Adventures with you. I’m super choosy and promise to only bring you the cream of the crop.

Celebrate 25 years of Label Rouge with 25 Scottish Salmon Recipes

Post in collaboration with Scottish Salmon 

A roundup of 25 fabulous recipes using Fresh, Smoked and Hot Smoked Scottish Salmon to celebrate 25 years of the Label Rouge Auld Alliance.

Bonjour! 2017 sees Scottish Salmon celebrate 25 years of holding the French Government’s Label Rouge award. This honour is given only to products of superior taste and quality. Scottish Salmon was the first non-French food and the only Scottish food to join this prestigious group, a fact of which Scottish Salmon producers are incredibly proud. The award of the Label Rouge was significant in developing the export market in France and has subsequently opened many other markets for Scottish salmon around the world.

To celebrate the celebrate the Auld Alliance and 25th Anniversary of being awarded the Label Rouge I've developed a new recipe using Scottish Salmon with a French twist. You'll find a link to my Scottish Salmon Cassoulet recipe below as part of a bumper roundup of 25 Scottish Salmon Recipes from top UK food bloggers using Fresh, Smoked and Hot Smoked Salmon. It is such a versatile fish and I for one absolutely can't get enough of it. Joyeux Anniversaire Saumon Ecossais!

1. Auld Alliance Scottish Salmon Cassoulet

2. Apple & Salmon Fishcakes

3. Red Pesto Crusted Salmon With Warm Salad

4. Pearl Barley Salad with Scottish Salmon and a Whisky Dressing 

5. Baked Salmon with Herbs

6. Sticky Scottish Salmon Kebabs with Sweet Chilli and Honey 

7. Crustless Salmon and Spinach Quiche 

8. Easy Salmon Fishcakes

9. Baked Salmon

10. Smoked Salmon, Crowdie and Tattie Scone 'Scottish Blinis'

11. Smoked Salmon & King Prawn Sushi Rice Bowl

12. Smoked Salmon Pizza

13. Sake Salmon

14. Salmon En Croute

15. Salmon Lime Fish Fingers

16. Smoked Salmon & Vegetable Kedgeree

17. Soy and Sesame Salmon with Vegetable Chow Mein

18. Salmon Ceviche Canapes with Herbed Mayonnaise

19. Thai Sweet Chilli Salmon Soba Noodles

20. Fennel and Orange Salad with Hot Smoked Salmon

21. Soy, Chilli & Ginger Salmon

22. One Tray Baked Salmon

23. Crispy Topped Fish Pie

24. Grilled Salmon with Creamy Polenta, Pistachios and Tomato Butter

25. Hot Smoked Salmon with Puy Lentils and Spinach

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Disclosure: This is a commissioned post for Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation. As always, all views expressed are my own. 

Thank you for supporting the brands who make it possible for me to continue to share my Edible Scottish Adventures with you. I’m super choosy who I work with and promise to only ever bring you the cream of the crop.