I had a craving for kedegree last week while working from home. Just out of the blue! I remembered the Mary Berry version that I’d made earlier this year and I though I could cook this for lunch for Ignacio, my mother and myself. I tried to get this done before the two o’clock clinical governance meeting that I was meant to be presenting at but it did not quite happen that way!

I started chopping the onions while waiting to speak to a mother to document her EHCP goals for her child. Then I couldn’t finish the preparation and just went straight into the 2pm meeting without lunch. When the meeting was over just after 4pm , I continued with the rest of the meal preparation which was a quite soothing activity for what had been a non stop day.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 3 onions (2 halved and thinly sliced, 1 finely chopped)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 350g (12oz) smoked haddock fillets
• 280g cod fillets
• 250g (9oz) basmati rice
• 3 cardamon pods, split
• 1/2 cinnamon stick, about 3cm (1 1/4 in) long
• 1/2 tsp tumeric
• 2 large eggs
• 30g (1oz) butter
• 100 ml creme fraiche
• 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander
• cayenne pepper, to taste
• juice of 1/2 lemon

Instructions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil and fry the sliced onions. Season with salt and pepper, drain on kitchen paper, and set aside in a warm place. Put the haddock and cod, skin side down, in a large frying pan and pour over enough water to just cover. Simmer, covered, over a low heat for 5 – 8 minutes until opaque and cooked through. Remover from the heat. Drain the fish and discard any skin and bones. Set aside.
2. Prepare the rice. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large, non-stick, deep-sided frying pan or sauté pan. Add the chopped onion, cardamom pods, and cinnamon and fry over a medium-high heat until the onion is golden, about 5 minutes. Stir the drained rice into the onion pan. Pour in 450 ml (15 floz) cold water and stir in the turmeric. Bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low, stir, cover, and cook for 12 – 15 minutes or until the water is absorbed. Take the rice off the heat and let it stand, covered, for 5 minutes before fluffing up the grains with a fork. Boil, peel, and quarter the eggs.
3. Flake the fish into large pieces. Remove the cinnamon stick from the rice and carefully stir in the butter, creme fraiche, coriander, fish, and eggs. Season with salt and cayenne pepper, and add the lemon juice. Heat through over a low heat, stirring gently once or twice only so you don’t break up the fish. Serve the kedgeree with the warm crispy onion on top.

Reference: Mary Berry Cooks the Perfect page 174