Burns Night is annually celebrated in Scotland on or around January 25 to commemorate the life of the bard (poet) Robert Burns, who was born on January 25, 1759, and his contribution to Scottish culture. His best known work is “Auld Lang Syne”.

The soup’s called Cullen Skink (that’s smoked haddock chowder to the non-Scots). But don’t be put off by the rather unappetising-sounding name… the dish originates from the fishing village of Cullen, in Morayshire.  It’s easy and quick (10 mins hands-on time) to make and tastes delicious.

Ingredients (serves 4)
1 onion, finely chopped
knob of butter
3 medium-size potatoes, cut into small chunks
1/2 large sweet potato, cut into small chunks
3 fillets of smoked haddock
chicken stock
milk or cream
parsley to garnish

Method (45 mins)
Fry the chopped onion in butter until it starts to soften.  Add the potato and sweet potato to the pan and enough stock to cover the vegetables.  Simmer for 30 minutes with the lid on until the potato is soft and starts to break down.  Add the haddock and simmer for a further 5 minutes.  At this stage you can either blitz the soup with a hand whisk or leave it with lumps in).  Add milk or cream to get the consistency you want.

Garnish with a sprig of parsley and serve immediately, piping hot, with a hunk of freshly-baked crusty bread.