Kedgeree

I came into an SCR lunch one day at Oriel College and before me was this curried rice concoction... When I saw fish in it, I thought, "Well, here we go again, the kitchen's trying to use up leftovers. Another failed British culinary experiment." Well, one bite proved me wrong, and I was hooked. It combines several ingredients that I love: rice, smoked fish, and curry powder. When I tried to re-create it in the US, I looked to Jamie Oliver, who has not let me down when it comes to these fish and rice dishes.

Ingredients

• 2 large free-range eggs
• 680 g undyed smoked haddock fillets (I couldn’t find any in the US, so I used cod)
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 170 g long grain or basmati rice
• sea salt
• 1 knob pure butterghee
• 1 thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 medium onion, or 1 bunch of spring onions, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 heaped tablespoons curry powder
• 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
• 2 tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
• juice of 2 lemons
• 2 good handfuls fresh coriander, leaves picked and chopped
• 1 fresh red chili, finely chopped
• 1 small pot yoghurt

Preparation

This is Jamie, verbatim:

1. Boil the eggs for 10 minutes, then hold under cold running water. Put the fish and bay leaves in a shallow pan with enough water to cover. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for about 5 minutes, until cooked through. Remove from pan and leave to cool. Remove the skin from fish, flake into chunks and set aside.
2. Cook the rice in salted water for about 10 minutes and drain. Refresh in cold water, drain again, and leave in the fridge until needed. Melt the butterghee in a pan over a low heat. Add the ginger, onion and garlic. Soften for about 5 minutes, then add the curry powder and mustard seeds. Cook for a further few minutes, then add the chopped tomatoes and lemon juice.
3. Quarter the eggs. Add the fish and rice to a pan and gently heat through. Add the eggs, most of the coriander and the chilli and stir gently. Place in a warm serving dish. Mix the rest of the coriander into the yoghurt and serve with the kedgeree.