Kedgeree

A delicious dish for lunch or dinner. This recipe was a typical breakfast dish in the Victorian days. It is often thought to be an Indian dish, but in fact it was introduced to India by Scottish soldiers.

Ingredients

200g smoked haddock fillets and 300g fresh haddock fillets, skin off and bones removed
1 bay leaf
2 spring onions
1 small bunch coriander
1 medium onion
2 hard-boiled eggs
1 lemon
1 x 15ml spoon vegetable oil
2 x 15ml spoons madras curry paste
100g frozen peas
Ground black pepper (optional)
500g cooked basmati rice

Equipment

Weighing scales
Medium saucepan
Pan stand
Plate
Draining spoon
Fork
Colander
Sharp knife
Chopping board
Lemon squeezer
Large saucepan or wok
Measuring spoons
Measuring jug
Wooden spoon
Large serving dish

Instructions

1. Put the boned and skinned fish in a medium pan and cover with water. Add the bay leaf, cover with the lid and bring to the boil. Once the fish is just boiling, turn down the heat and poach the fish for about 6 minutes until cooked. When poached, the fish will flake easily, test it with a fork and it will have turned opaque when it is cooked.
2. Remove the fish from the pan and flake into pieces on a plate. Save some of the cooking water.
3. Wash the spring onions and coriander. Finely chop the onion and the stalks of the coriander, top and tail the spring onions. Finely chop the leaves of the coriander to add to the Kedgeree before serving.
4. Peel the hard-boiled eggs and cut into quarters. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice.
5. Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan or wok. Fry the onions, spring onions and coriander stalks on a low heat for 5 minutes.
6. Stir in the madras paste, peas and water. Continue to cook for 5 minutes, stirring to prevent the vegetables from burning. Add black pepper to taste (if using).
7. Add the cooked rice and the flaked fish, adding a little of the reserved cooking water if the rice seems dry.
8. Gently stir all the ingredients together over a low heat until piping hot. Stir in the lemon juice and ½ of the coriander.
9. Transfer to a large serving dish, arrange the hard boiled eggs on top and sprinkle with the rest of the coriander leaves. Serve immediately.

Skills used include:
Weighing, measuring, peeling, chopping, squeezing and frying.

Top Tips

• When cooked, gently crack the shell on the hard-boiled eggs and leave to cool in cold water so the shell can be removed easily.
• You can use express ready-cooked rice for speed. Heat the rice according to the instructions on the pack before adding to the Kedgeree.
• 220g of uncooked long grain rice will weigh around 500g when cooked.

Something to try next time

• Try replacing the haddock with different fish such as salmon or cod. You could also replace it with 100g of prawns.
• If you prefer a less spicy Kedgeree, leave out the curry paste and add 1 x 15ml spoon of chopped parsley and the zest of a lemon.
• Add more vegetables to the recipe such as 100g each of baby sweetcorn, mangetout or French beans.
• Add a small whole red chilli, and take out before serving for an extra spicy flavour!
• Add 20g of sultanas.

Prepare now, eat later

• Hard-boil the eggs in advance and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
• Follow these steps to re-use rice safely. Cool leftover Kedgeree quickly (within 1 hour), refrigerate and use within 24 hours. Cook until piping hot or serve cold. Do not reheat rice more than once.