Serves 4

Being a Scot, I have a natural soft spot for Cullen Skink, a hearty soup made with potato, milk and smoked haddock. This is a lighter version, using cauliflower instead of potato to form the base, with a touch of curry powder. If you are making this ahead, add the poached haddock just before serving to prevent it from overcooking.

400g smoked haddock fillet, with skin
500ml full-fat milk
1 onion, peeled
10 cloves
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large head of cauliflower, cut into small florets
1 tbsp mild curry powder
500ml fish or vegetable stock
50ml double cream
2 tbsp freshly chopped chives

1 Lay the haddock fillet skin-side up in a large pan and pour in the milk. Halve the onion and cut one half into wedges. Press the cloves into the wedges and add them to the pan with the bay leaves. Bring the milk to a gentle simmer and poach the fish for 3-4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and leave to infuse for 5 minutes.

2 Roughly chop the other onion half and sauté in the oil until soft. Add the cauliflower and curry powder and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the haddock from the milk and set aside. Strain the milk, discarding the onion and bay leaves, then pour the milk over the cauliflower.

3 Add enough stock to just cover the cauliflower, then bring to a gentle boil. Simmer until the cauliflower is tender, then strain through a sieve into a large heatproof bowl. Purée the cauliflower florets with half of the poaching liquid until really smooth.

4 Pass the cauliflower purée through a sieve into a clean pan and stir in the cream. Add more of the poaching liquid until you have a soup-like consistency, then reheat and check for seasoning.

5 Remove the skin and any bones from the fish. Flake the fish into bite-sized pieces and add to the soup with half of the chives. Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and sprinkle with the remaining chives.

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