(5oz) wild rice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
350g (12oz) white or brown basmati rice
500g (1lb 2oz) smoked haddock (about 2 medium fillets)
25g (1oz) butter
350ml (12fl oz) milk
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
4 tbsp olive oil
2 large onions, peeled and thinly sliced
½ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp garam masala
10 eggs, at room temperature
225g (8oz) fresh or frozen peas
2 tbsp chopped coriander or parsley
2 tbsp chopped chives
50ml (2fl oz) single or regular cream
1 Tip the wild rice and a pinch of salt into a saucepan of boiling water and cook on a medium heat for about 45 minutes until the rice is cooked but with a tiny bite still left. Add the basmati rice and a pinch of salt to another saucepan of boiling water and cook until tender. (White basmati rice will take 10–12 minutes to cook and brown basmati rice 25–30 minutes.) Drain well and return both to one pan to keep warm.
2 Meanwhile, place the smoked haddock in a wide saucepan and add the butter, milk and a pinch of black pepper. Bring slowly to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 10–12 minutes or until the fish is cooked. When it is ready it will begin to fall apart in chunks. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.
3 Place a very large frying pan on a high heat and toast the cumin and coriander seeds for a few seconds until just a shade darker, then remove the seeds and roughly crush them. (If you don’t have a pestle and mortar, simply tip them out onto a chopping board and crush them with a rolling pin or the base of a pan.)
4 Return the pan to a medium heat and add the olive oil. Tip in the onions and sauté for 4–5 minutes or until just turning golden. Add the crushed cumin and coriander seeds, along with the cayenne pepper and garam masala. Turn the heat down to low, cover the pan with a lid and continue to cook the onions for 12–15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until completely soft.
5 While the onions are cooking, bring a large saucepan of water to the boil, gently lower the eggs into the water with a slotted spoon and boil for just 6 minutes until semi-hard boiled. Drain the eggs and run cold water over them to stop them cooking. Peel them once they are cool enough to handle and cut into quarters.
6 Tip the peas into a saucepan of boiling water and cook for 1–2 minutes or until tender, then drain. Meanwhile, the haddock should now be cool enough to handle, so remove from the milk (reserving the milk for later), peel away the skin, remove any bones and flake the fish into chunks of about 1cm (½in).
7 Now that everything is cooked and prepared, you are ready to assemble the dish. Remove the lid covering the onions and, leaving the pan on a low heat, add the drained wild and basmati rice, the peas and half of each of the coriander or parsley and chives, stirring to mix. Pour over the cream, along with 50ml (2fl oz) of the milk the fish was cooked in, and gently stir to loosen the whole mixture slightly. Add the flaked haddock pieces, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and stir gently together.
8 Transfer the kedgeree to a wide, shallow serving dish or plate and arrange the quartered eggs on top and around the sides, then sprinkle with the remaining chopped herbs and serve.
Weekend fry-up
SERVES 1
Not something for breakfast every morning, of course, but there are times when this is just what you need to keep you going for the rest of the day. A fry-up is great when friends are staying — simply multiply the ingredients given below by however many people you are feeding. Source the best local ingredients you can and follow up with a big walk. If you prefer your eggs boiled or poached, see pages 25 and 30.
Vegetable, sunflower or olive oil, for frying
2 sausages
2 rashers of thick, dry-cured, smoked or unsmoked, back or streaky bacon, rind removed
2–3 slices of black and/or white pudding
Butter, for frying and spreading on toast
50g (2oz) button mushrooms, sliced, or 1 large flat mushroom, any stalk removed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 ripe tomato, halved
Pinch of caster sugar (if roasting the tomato in the oven)
1–2 eggs
1 tbsp milk (for scrambled eggs)
2 slices of white or brown bread
1 Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a large frying pan on a medium heat and begin by frying the sausages. Cook gently for 10–15 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Add the bacon rashers to the same pan with the sausages and fry for 3–4 minutes on each side or until crisp and golden, dabbing off any milky liquid with kitchen paper. Add the black and/or white pudding slices to the pan and fry for 2–3 minutes on each side or until beginning to crisp and the white pudding (if using) turns golden. Remove the sausages, bacon and pudding slices from the pan and drain on kitchen paper. Place in an ovenproof dish and keep warm in a low oven if necessary.
2 Meanwhile, add a dash of oil and knob of butter to another frying pan on a medium heat, and sauté the mushrooms for 3–4 minutes or until softened and turning golden. Season with salt and pepper, then remove from the pan and keep warm (adding to the dish with the cooked sausages and bacon). If cooking a large flat mushroom, then add the oil and butter to the pan and fry the mushrooms for 8–10 minutes, turning halfway through, until softened and browned.
3 Season the cut side of the tomato halves and drizzle over
1 tablespoon of oil. Gently fry them, cut side down first, for 2–3 minutes, then turn over and fry for a further 2–3 minutes or until just softened.
4 Alternatively, cook the large flat mushroom and/or the tomatoes in the oven. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F), Gas mark 6. Drizzle 2 teaspoons of olive oil or add a knob of butter over the mushroom and season with salt and pepper before roasting for 12–15 minutes until tender. Put a knob of butter on the cut side of each tomato half, add the sugar and season with a little salt and pepper before roasting for 12–15 minutes or until softened. If using the oven, begin roasting the mushroom and tomatoes a few minutes before frying the sausages and bacon. Once cooked, reduce the oven temperature to low for keeping everything warm as it is cooked.
5 To fry an egg, melt a knob of butter in a small, clean frying pan on a low heat. Carefully crack the egg into the pan and allow to fry gently.
