British breakfasters miss their kedgeree, a staple of the groaning British Raj breakfast sideboard that these days makes a great lunch dish, and their Omelette Arnold Bennett. But where to buy the key ingredient, smoked haddock? Don't despair, there's a good internet source:

stoningtonseafood.com

Kedgeree

Serves 4

1½ pounds thick smoked haddock fillets
4 ounces butter
1 onion, chopped
¾ level teaspoon hot (Madras) curry powder
long-grain white rice measured up to the 8 fluid ounce level in a measuring jug
3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
3 heaped tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and freshly milled black pepper

Place the haddock fillets in a saucepan and cover them with 1 pint cold water. Bring to the boil, lower the heat, put on a lid, and simmer gently for about 8 minutes. Drain off the water into a measuring jug and reserve. Transfer the haddock to a dish, cover with foil and keep it warm.

Using the same saucepan, melt 2 ounces of the butter and soften the onion in it for 5 minutes. Next stir in the curry powder, cook for half a minute, then stir in the measured rice and add 16 fluid ounces of the haddock cooking water. Stir once then when it comes up to simmering point, cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook, very gently, for 15 minutes or until the rice grains are tender.

When the rice has been cooking for 10 minutes, remove and discard the skins from the fish and flake the flesh. Once the rice is ready, remove it from the heat and fork in the flaked fish, hard-boiled eggs, parsley, lemon juice and the remaining 2 ounces butter. Cover the pan with a folded tea towel and replace it on very gentle heat for 5 minutes. Then tip the kedgeree quickly on to a hot serving dish, season to taste and serve.

This recipe is taken from Delia Smith’s Complete Cookery Course.
 

Omelette Arnold Bennett

This classic was created by London's Savoy Hotel for the novelist Arnold Bennett to sustain him while he was staying there writing Imperial Palace.

Serves 2 - 3

2 rounded tablespoons crème fraîche
8 ounces smoked haddock, skin and bones removed, cut into ½ inch chunks
5 large eggs
½ level teaspoon cornflour
½ ounces butter
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 ounces Gruyère, grated
salt and freshly milled black pepper

An 8-inch omelette pan or frying pan.

Put the crème fraîche into a medium heavy bottomed pan over medium-low heat and bring to a gentle simmer. Add some freshly milled black pepper but not salt because the haddock is generally salty. Carefully lay in the fish and poach it gently uncovered for about 5 minutes.

To make the sauce separate one of the eggs, breaking the yolk into a small bowl and reserving the white in another bowl. Add the cornflour to the yolk and whisk well.

When the fish is cooked, use a draining spoon to lift it out into a sieve placed over the saucepan, to allow the liquid to drain back. Press lightly to extract every last drop of liquid, then place the sieve containing the fish on a plate. At this point pre-heat the broiler to its highest setting.

Now bring the liquid in the pan back up to simmering point. Pour it on to the egg yolk, whisking all the time. Then return the whole mixture to the saucepan and gently bring it back to just below simmering point or until it has thickened – no more than one or two minutes or it will curdle. Remove it from the heat and stir in the cooked haddock, tasting to see if it needs any salt. Whisk the egg white to the soft-peak stage and carefully fold it into the haddock mixture.

To make the omelette beat the 4 remaining eggs with some seasoning. Melt the butter and oil in a frying pan until foaming, swirling them round to coat the sides and base. When it's very hot add the eggs, let them settle for about 2 minutes, then begin to draw the edges into the centre, tilting the pan to let the liquid egg run into the gaps.

When you feel the eggs are half set, turn the heat down and spoon the haddock mixture evenly over the surface of the eggs, using a palette knife to spread it. Now sprinkle the Gruyère over the top and place the omelette pan under the grill, positioning it roughly 5 inches from the heat source. The omelette will now take 2-3 minutes to become puffy, golden brown and bubbling. Remove it from the grill, let it settle and relax for 5 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving on warmed plates.

This recipe is taken from Delia Smith’s Christmas, How to Cook Book Three and The Delia Collection: Fish.