Kedgeree (Asian spiced)

Kedgeree is an English breakfast dish brought from India and made of leftover fish, rice and hard-boiled eggs. This variation is by Nigella Lawson (Nigella Bites). Traditionally Kedgeree is served with rice, smoked fish, hard cooked eggs, and bechamel sauce flavored with curry. Nigella has made this an easy dish with lovely Thai seasonings.

Serves 6
500ml cold water (for poaching the fish)
2 lime leaves, torn into pieces
4 salmon fillets (about 3cm thick), skinned and 750g in total
45g unsalted butter
1 teaspoon oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
225 Basmati rice
3 hard boiled eggs (quartered)
3 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped plus more for garnish
1 lime, juice and zest
1 teaspoon Thai fish sauce

Preheat oven to 220c. Pour water into a roasting dish, add lime leaves and then the salmon. Cover the dish with foil and cook in the over for 15 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven and drain the liquid off into a jug. Keep the fish warm.

Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the oil. Soften the onion in the pan and add the spices. Cook onion until slightly translucent. Add the rice and stir with a wooden spoon until rice is well coated with the spices. Pour in the reserved liquid from the jug (500ml) and stir before covering with a lid. Cook gently for 15 minutes. At the end of the cooking time, when the rice if tender, turn off the heat. Remove the lid and cover with a tea towel and then replace the lid. This will help absorb any extra moisture from the rice. It’s also the best way to let the rice stand without it sticking together.

The Culinary Chase’s Note: Poaching the salmon in the oven makes the fish very tender and moist. The flavors from this dish are heavenly! I love cumin and coriander and therefore end up adding a bit more than what the recipe calls for. If you can’t find lime leaves, you can always substitute lime zest to help flavor the poaching liquid.