Wednesday, 12 May 2010

Poor Man's Kedgeree

Kedgeree is one of those interesting anomalies that have found their way onto British tables claiming to be of Indian origin despite not actually being found on the subcontinent. Somewhat like Singapore fried noodles. It consists of buttery or creamy rice spiced with curry powder, parsley and sometimes chilli, cooked together with hard-boiled eggs and flaked fish, the latter often being smoked haddock the number of times I have encountered recipes for the dish. I have only cooked this once before, for my unsuspecting housemates a few years back, following a recipe by Jamie Oliver.

When Basics Smoked Mackerel appeared on the shelves, I told myself that I really should do a post about Jamie Oliver's Kedgeree using Basics ingredients. I would be able to show my fellow countrymen a slice of the lesser-known aspects of British cuisine, and given that Jamie Oliver is closely associated with Sainsbury's in recent times, it would also be significantly interesting (if not highly amusing). Now, after several months of procrastinating, I've finally gotten round to it.

The photos above and below are for those of you who are wondering how the fish is stuck to the plastic tray without any visible film.

Unfortunately, Sainsbury's does not carry curry powder or chillies in their Basics line, so we will have to make do without. Start by boiling the mackerel in water for 5 minutes, using enough water to cover the pan.

Once done, transfer the water used to boil the fish to 1.5 cups of rice.
Meanwhile, deskin and flake the fish, taking care to pick out any bones.
Chop up a small onion and about four cloves of garlic, and fry until soft.
Begin to hard-boil an egg in the meantime.
Add 1.5 tablespoons of mustard and stir vigourously, taking care that the mustard does not stick to the pan.
Add the rice and fish and stir through.
Quarter the egg and add to the pan. Squeeze lemon juice and stir through. Serves two generous portions.

The result was rather good, despite the absence of anything spicy. The tanginess of the lemon contrasted well with the saltiness of the smoked fish, and the rice cooked this way was very filling. More importantly, this blog post shows that you can even use Basics products to recreate recipes from your favourite celebrity chef!

DescriptionPrice per UnitNo. of servingsTrade-up PremiumTrade-up Benefits
Smoked Mackeral£1.86250g+£0.01Added spice
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