Kedgeree and Omelette Arnold Bennett recipes
These are two recipes that come into their own with the fall chill. Make them for a celebratory brunch or lunch or an informal supper.
Kedgeree
- ½ onion, finely chopped
2oz butter
10½oz basmati rice
1 tsp madras curry powder
freshly grated nutmeg
7fl oz milk
4fl oz double cream
10½oz naturally smoked haddock, picked over, bones removed and flesh flaked into chunks
salt and freshly ground black pepper
small bunch flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
3 hard-boiled eggs, shelled and halved
good pinch cayenne and freshly ground nutmeg (optional) -
- To serve
knob of butter
wedges of lemon -
Cook the onion gently in the butter for a few minutes, then add the rice.Continue cooking gently and stirring, adding the curry powder and nutmeg. After a few minutes, add the milk, cream and 250ml/9fl oz water.
When the mixture begins to simmer, add the fish and continue simmering, stirring occasionally until the rice is cooked. (You may need to add a little water if the mixture becomes dry.)
Season, add the parsley and stir. Add the eggs and garnish with cayenne and nutmeg if using.
To serve, stir in a generous knob of butter and stud with wedges of lemon.
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.
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