Monday 19 July 2010

That Skinking Feeling


We've escaped the miserable west coast summer weather by heading east. Sunshine was splitting the sky when we awoke this morning. Relief.

My wife is currently taking photos of Swallows darting in and out of the roof of an old fishing shed outside the window of the tiny house in which we are staying. Sand Martins also swoop and dive above the shore.

Yesterday I enjoyed two excellent but distinctly different bowls of Cullen Skink. We're in the right part of the world for it: Cullen is just a few miles along the main road from where we are staying. I think this fish soup is a genuine Scottish delicacy. When made correctly it can be a delicious and highly nutritious meal.

My first bowl of the day was slightly lacking in body: All the right components and flavours were there but it just wasn't chunky and filling enough for my palate. My second was chunkiness incarnate: great lumpen islands of smoked haddock and potato, while the liquid component seemed to be composed almost entirely of cream. This is probably not quite right as far as the traditional recipe goes but, for someone like me who thrives on protein and fat, it seemed perfection.

Later, with full bellies and smug contentment, we watched the sun sink in a riot of pink and orange hues off the beautiful coast of Skinkland.

No comments:

Post a Comment