Smoked haddock soup with fresh herbs and spinach

Method

1. Boil the whisky in a small pan for 30 seconds. If you’re using a gas flame, carefully tip the pan so the whisky catches fire, then let it flame to remove most of the alcohol. If you don’t have a gas flame, you can light the pan with a long taper or match. If it doesn’t go out after a minute or so, put a lid on to kill the flame.
2. Heat the butter in a large pan on a medium heat. When it starts to foam, add the onion, celery, garlic and mushrooms. Fry, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the curry powder and saffron, then cook for a further 3 minutes, stirring from time to time.
3. Pour in the de-alcoholised whisky, the milk and 600ml water, bring to the boil, then add the diced haddock. Bring back to the boil for 2 minutes, then skim off any impurities that have collected on the surface. Remove from the heat, taste and adjust the seasoning with cayenne pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice (you probably won’t need any salt, as smoked haddock is quite salty). Leave the soup to cool down a little.
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5. Blend the soup well in a liquidiser, then either pass through a fine sieve (discard anything that won’t pass through) or leave it as it is – see tips. Give the soup a final taste for seasoning, then tip into a medium saucepan over a medium heat to warm it up again – it should be served piping hot (see tips).
6. Put the spinach in a small saucepan. Add 50ml water and a pinch of salt. Cover and put over a high heat, bringing the water to a galloping boil for 1 minute. Drain and press out the water, then divide the spinach among the soup bowls.
7. Add the haddock cubes to the soup bowls, stir the coriander through the soup, then ladle into the bowls. Sprinkle with the chives and serve.

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