Oven-Baked Wild Alaska Salmon Kedgeree
Ingredients
• 1 x 418g or 2 x 213g cans red or pink Alaska salmon
• 50g (2oz) butter
• 1 onion, finely sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 400g (14oz) basmati rice
• Thinly pared rind of 1 lemon
• 3 bay leaves (fresh or dried)
• 6 green cardamom pods, split
• 6 cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tbsp medium curry powder
• 900ml (1 ½ pints) chicken or vegetable stock
• 4 eggs
• Fresh coriander sprigs, to garnish
Method
Preheat the oven to 190°C/fan oven 170°C/Gas Mark 5. Drain the can of salmon, reserving the liquid. Discard the skin and bones, if wished, then use a fork to break the salmon into large chunks. Cover and set aside.
Melt the butter in a large flameproof casserole dish that has a tight-fitting lid. Add the onion and garlic and sauté over a low heat for about 5 minutes until soft, but not brown
Remove from the heat and add the rice, pieces of pared lemon rind, bay leaves, cardamom pods, cloves, cinnamon stick, curry powder, reserved salmon liquid and stock. Stir well. Cover with the lid and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 25 minutes. Time this accurately!
Ten minutes before the end of cooking time, put the eggs on to cook in gently simmering water. They will take 12 minutes to hard boil.
Remove the casserole dish from the oven and allow it to stand for 5 minutes, without removing the lid. Shell the eggs and cut into quarters. Gently stir the salmon chunks through the rice, then spoon onto warm plates. Serve with the hard-boiled eggs and garnish with sprigs of coriander.
Cook’s tip: Use a potato peeler to thinly pare the rind from the lemon. Use an unwaxed lemon if you can, otherwise scrub an ordinary one well before use.
