Fish for breakfast

Fish for breakfast is hardly a new concept. People all over the planet have been doing it since time immemorial, though unless you count lox on bagels, it has never been a regular thing for me.

My first exposure to the concept was from my father, who occasionally liked to fish. He would sometimes zap some smelt in a pan to have along with his fried eggs and toast. I didn't care for smelt when I was a rugrat. 

Now, older and wiser, I do try new things here and there. I also consume a lot of British media, so I suppose it was only a matter of time before I tried kedgeree, if only out of curiosity. I mentioned I was thinking of trying it, and my friend Marybeth provided this recipe from the BBC. 

• 475g/1lb 1oz undyed smoked haddock fillet, cut in half  (I didn't have access to haddock, the grocery said they had trout, but ended up substituting salmon, so see the additional instructions below for that).
• 2 bay leaves
• 200g/7oz basmati rice, rinsed in cold water and drained
• 4 free-range eggs
• 100g/3½oz frozen peas (optional) (I plan to us a bit more next time. I adore curry and peas together)
• 40g/1½oz butter
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil (there's a history of sunflower allergy in my family, so I used safflower. Avocado would also do. Light and neutral is whats needed)
• 1 onion, finely chopped (as with the peas, there will be more next time)
• 1 heaped tbsp medium curry powder
• 3 tbsp double cream
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh flatleaf parsley
• ½ lemon, juice only
• freshly ground black pepper

Place the haddock in a large frying pan, skin-side up. Pour over 500ml/18fl oz water, add the bay leaves and bring the water to a gentle simmer. Cook the fish for 8–10 minutes until it is just done and flakes easily. Drain in a colander set over a bowl, reserving the cooking liquor, and discard the bay leaves.

Pour the cooking liquor into a saucepan and stir in the rice. Cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the rice very gently for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the rice covered for 3–5 minutes more. By this time it should have absorbed all the fish liquor.

While the rice is cooking, bring some water to the boil in a saucepan. Add the eggs and cook for 8 minutes. Drain them in a sieve under cold running water and when cool enough to handle, peel them carefully and set aside. Cook the peas, if using, in a small saucepan of boiling water and drain.

Melt the butter with the oil in a large frying pan and cook the onion over a low heat for 5 minutes until well softened, stirring occasionally. Add the curry powder and cook for another 3 minutes, stirring constantly. 

A word about the curry powder. I am quite fond of spicy heat, but I have to say that the extra-hot curry powder I had in the house was a bit much. I will be getting a milder one for the next batch. If you want an assortment to choose from, I am happy to recommend Auntie Arwen's (this is not a paid endorsement, but I'll happily take money for it).

Place the cooked rice into the pan and stir into the onions. Add the peas, cream, parsley and a few twists of ground black pepper.

Flake the fish into chunky pieces and add these to the pan. Gently stir in the lemon juice and cook for 1–2 minutes. Cut the eggs into quarters and place them on top of the rice. Cover the pan with a lid and heat through for 2–3 minutes or until the eggs are warm, then serve.

If not serving immediately, tip the kedgeree into a warm dish and dot with a few cubes of butter. Cover with kitchen foil and keep warm in a low oven for up to 20 minutes before serving.

The instructions I followed at the first step:  To make this dish using hot smoked salmon, swap in 500ml/18fl oz light chicken stock in place of the cooking liquor from the fish. Stir in the hot smoked salmon with the peas.

Not Dead Yet or Chick pea pasta doesn't always photograph well

 Hello everyone. I hope you're doing okay. The pandemic has been calling for a lot of comfort food, though I haven't been really happy with a lot of the things I've been cooking of late until today. That is why you haven't heard from me in a while

I try to shop sales and this week, I lucked out to find some chanterelle mushrooms at a reduced price. Then an idea popped into my head to bring out that buttery flavor and mouthfeel and I came up with this:

• 4 oz bacon chopped into 1/2 -inch pieces (pancetta could also be used here)
• 8 oz dry pasta I recommend orchiette or something that will hold a creamy sauce. Shells could work, though when peas get caught in shells, they kind of look like eyeballs. That might not amuse everyone at your table.
• 1/2 Cup heavy cream
• 6-7 ounces green peas--I used canned 'very young' ones. They're nicely tender. If you're using frozen, I recommend thawing first and draining off excess water.
• 4 oz chanterelle mushrooms, chopped into 3/4 inch pieces
• One big shallot or two small ones, diced into 1/4 inch pieces (the big one was too big to enclose in my hand)
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 3 oz Grana Padano cheese, grated. Parmesan works here, but Padano is more affordable much of the time. 
• ground black pepper to taste

Rinse the mushrooms, pat dry with paper towels. Chop them into 3/4 inch pieces or thereabouts. Throw them in a colander and rinse. Since chantarelles have that fluted fluffy top, it's easy for dirt to be missed on the first rinse. Shake the colander up and down a few times to get more water out. Put them on a plate with paper towels.

Cook your bacon to desired crunchiness. I've always found it useful to start cooking bacon on low heat and then bringing it up slowly to medium/medium high. Remove from pan onto paper towels. Drain the fat, but don't wash the pan. Turn the heat to medium-low.

Melt butter and put in your shallots, stirring constantly until they begin to turn brown. You might want to have a glass of your favorite beverage handy during this step, this takes a while, but it's worth it.

Once your shallots are brown, add the mushrooms, stirring constantly for about two minutes. Slowly add the cream, then the peas, and keep stirring for another minute, then toss in your bacon.  Gradually stir in the cheese until it's absorbed.

Put the heat down to low and cook your pasta. Stir every once in a while. You're going to get a light red/brown because the bacon will color the sauce.

Drain your pasta. Add it to the sauce, stir well. Have pepper handy so it can be added to taste. Makes 3 servings.

The pictures I tried to take really didn't show off the ingredients, so we'll have to do without this time.

Note that there isn't any flour in the sauce. You really don't need it, it will thicken up of its own accord. If you're not eating a wheat pasta, this recipe is gluten-free.

This recipe is pretty flexible too. Easy enough to double if you want to cook a pound of pasta. The chickpea pasta I like comes in 8 oz boxes. 

I had a lot of leftover peas--it was a 15oz can. I threw the bulk of them in some leftover Indian food that will be eaten tomorrow. Not sure what to do with the rest. 

Next up: Cocoa Corner