I first had this dish at a fancy-pantsy brunch, and it was love at first bite.
Warm spices, smoky fish, creamy texture, and a hint of lemon... Yumm!
Apparently this meal was first brought back from India, by the military in the glory days of the British Empire. They have a long tradition of smoked fish at breakfast, and this just takes it to a whole new level. It's always served as a 'light' meal like brunch or sometimes supper, but today it's my lunch.
I'm a bit under the weather today, I'm shaking off a concussion from a fall at work, so this recipe is full of shortcuts. No sharp knives or much cooking for a couple of days! Thank goodness for spellcheck too, my typing is very funny as well.
Feel free to poach your own fish, but please promise not to use that scary yellow slab defrosting soggily behind the glass at the supermarket, the cryo-vacked portions are affordable and sooo much tastier. A nice smoked trout is really lovely in this too, and if you want to go totally upmarket then try smoked salmon draped through the rice and topped with a softly poached egg instead of a hard boiled one.... bliss.
Ingredients:
1 packet microwave rice/ 3 cups cooked rice
1 onion finely chopped
1 tbsp crushed ginger
2 tsp crushed garlic
2 heaped tbsp mild curry powder
250ml lactose free cream
1 pack hot smoked salmon
4 roughly chopped hard boiled eggs
Zest of a lemon
Slowly sweat down the onion, garlic and ginger in some butter until cooked through.
Add in the curry powder and cook it off for about a minute to take away the 'raw' to it and to let the flavours mingle.
Tip in the packet of rice and stir well to distribute the curriness. Then add in the cream and let it heat well.
Carefully stir through the spinach, lemon zest, eggs and salmon and heat through gently.
Serve with a wedge of lemon.
This would also be really nice with a bit of crunch, perhaps from some toasted flaked almonds on top. Little cherry tomatoes would add some sweetness and contrast too.
Dish this up at your next brunch with some other dainties like French Toast or pancakes, and of course a glass of champagne and orange juice.
So Readers, are you a fan of brunch, and what is your favourite brunch dish?