Kedgeree with Curry Beurre Blanc, Poached Eggs & Tempered Curry Leaves
Piet won a Spekko Rice Celebrity Chefs Cook-off with this recipe. The judges were impressed with the layers of spice “tones” in this fragrant dish.
Ingredients
For the rice
1 clove
1 cinnamon stick
4 cardamom pods
165 ml white wine
3 bay leaves
500 ml fish stock or water
375 g Spekko Royal Umbrella Jasmine Rice
Salt
For the masala spice
10 ml (2 tsp) whole cumin seeds
5 ml (1 tsp) black peppercorns
10 ml (2 tsp) fennel seeds
5 ml (1 tsp) turmeric
For the curry paste
75 ml (5 tbsp) butter
2 green serrano chillies, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 celery stick, finely chopped
1 leek, finely chopped
1 X 3 cm piece fresh ginger, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
For the beurre blanc
50 ml white wine vinegar
100 ml cream
200 g butter
For the garnish
200 ml oil
10 g fresh curry leaves
10 ml (2 tsp) mustard seeds
2 red onions, finely sliced
100 g corn or gram flour
10 g fresh coriander
4 lemons, halved and grilled
For the seared smoked hake
Oil for searing
2 hake fillets, skin on, cured and smoked (Piet home-smoked his hake over
camel thorn tree shavings)
For the poached eggs (Mollen eggs)
12 very fresh eggs
100 ml vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
- First cook the rice. Heat a pot and toast the clove, cinnamon stick and cardamom pods in until fragrant. Add the wine and bay leaves. Boil for a few minutes until the alcohol is burned off.
- Add the fish stock and rice and season to taste. Bring to the boil, lower heat and simmer until the rice is cooked and fluffy.
- To make the masala, heat a pan and toast the cumin, black peppercorns, coriander and fennel until fragrant. Add the turmeric and then finely grind. Set aside.
- Make the curry paste next. Heat the butter in a pan, then add the chilli, carrot, onion, celery, leek, ginger and garlic. Sauté until golden, then add the masala spice and sauté until a paste is formed and the spices are cooked. Add a bit of water if necessary.
- Mix ¾ of the curry paste into the cooked rice and set aside.
- To make the beurre blanc, heat the vinegar in a pot and add the remaining ¼ of the curry paste. Cook until just combined.
- In a second pot, heat the cream over a low heat. Slowly add the butter and cook to form a sauce. Add the vinegar and curry paste mixture and set aside.
- To prepare the garnish, heat the oil and temper the curry leaves and mustard seeds. Remove and set aside.
- Coat the onion slices in the flour and fry in the oil until crispy.
- To prepare the fish, remove the skin. Heat oil in a pan and sear the skin until crisp. Then sear half the hake. Flake the remainder of the hake. Set all aside.
- For the soft poached eggs, heat a pot of water, add the vinegar and poach the eggs. Remove, season.
- To assemble, in a large dish, spread the rice. Top with the flaked and seared fish and poached eggs. Coat the eggs with the curry beurre blanc. Top with the tempered curry leaves and mustard seeds, crispy onions and the crisped fish skin. Garnish with fresh coriander and the grilled lemons.