This past Saturday I found inspiration for Sunday lunch via a fabulous cook called Honey. He was serving up samples of his food inside Woolworths at the Waterfront. On his menu: kedgeree, green salad and bruschetta. I didn’t taste it as I’d already eaten but it looked so mouth-wateringly scrumptious that I decided it’s what I’d add to the Sunday lunch menu.
The first thing I had to do was source some smoked haddock. The boxes in the freezer section of any supermarket are quite expensive but thankfully they had some individual fresh portions at the fresh fish counter inside Woolworths which were reasonable priced. Why pay R80 for frozen fish when you can by 2 big, freshly smoked pieces for R30?
Kedgeree is a dish I’d wanted to make for a long time. I really don’t know why I didn’t. After cooking it, I realised it could also be a budget-friendly meal, if you can source your smoked or fresh fish for a good price of course.
So there I was on Sunday with a vague memory of watching Jamie Oliver cook it on one of his shows and a more vivid memory of what Honey’s looked like the day before at Woolworths. And so of course, I improvised.
* Note: This is not a classic recipe. I didn’t poach the fish beforehand but rather allowed it to steam when I added it to the rice. This saves time and saves you from cleaning another pot.
Here’s what I did.
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 grated tomatoes
- 1 tsp garlic and ginger paste
- 1 finely chopped chilli
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 tin peas
- 2 tsp Packo roasted masala (or any curry powder of your choice)
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp coriander
- ΒΌ tsp turmeric
- 100g smoked haddock fillets
- 1 cup rice
- Salt to season
- Boiled eggs
- Prepare to boil rice. Add turmeric and salt to the pot of water and rice and boil until rice is cooked to the desired texture. Soft but firm to the bite. Drain in a colander.
- While rice drains, braise onion in olive oil until golden. Add garlic and ginger paste, grated tomato, chilli, spices and some salt. Once spices are cooked and combined, add diced pepper and cook until pepper softens slightly. Add peas (which you've drained) to the pot. Once you've got a nice thick sauce, add the cooked rice to the pot.
- Thereafter, chop the haddock into chunks and add to the pot. Add a couple of tablespoons of water to the rice so that it can create steam to cook the fish.
- I added some butter (about 30g) to the pot before allowing the fish to steam. Close lid for between 5 and 10 minutes. This will ensure your fish cooks through but doesn't dry out.
- Lastly stir boiled eggs into the rice. Or serve on the side as I did.
Enjoy!
Kedgeree
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