Recipes, Bits on the sideMike PittsMarch 05, 2021fish, starter, curry, rice, Deep Fried

Kedgeree Arancini

Recipes, Bits on the sideMike PittsMarch 05, 2021fish, starter, curry, rice, Deep Fried

I have to credit my food muse (an arancini lover) with this one. She was talking about kedgeree and had the brainwave of enjoying it in deep fried ball form. An instant must try for the FatSteak Club as we do love our balls and deep fried things. This recipe will generate around 8 - 10 fishy balls, perfect for a starter.

Step 1 - The Kedgeree

Gently poach the haddock in a shallow pan with just enough water to cover it for 5 - 10 minutes until the flesh is translucent.
Keep the poaching water. With the fillet, flake off the better bits of fish putting to one side but retaining the trimmings separately.
Gently toast the rice in a non-stick pan over a low heat before adding 150ml of the poaching water and the curry powder.
Top tip: the spice can be increased or decreased by using hot or mild curry powder respectively instead.
Gently simmer until the rice is just cooked (add more poaching water if needed).
Put one egg in a pan of water and bring to the boil before simmering for 5 minutes. Cool under running water then peel and chop the egg.
Meanwhile chop the head of the parsley finely and put to one side. Now chop the stalks finely and stir with the cream and a pinch of curry powder.
When the rice is ready stir in the cream mixture, followed by the cheeses and butter.
Finely chop the spring onion before mixing with the kedgeree. Finally stir in the chopped parsley and egg. Chill this mixture, covered, in the fridge until needed.

Step 2 - The Arancini

Prepare three bowls with flour in one, the other egg, beaten, in another and the last with breadcrumbs.
Heat a deep pan a third filled with the oil to ~190 C (Top tip: if you aren’t using a deep fat fryer or don’t have a thermometer, this temperature will turn a small cube of bread golden in 10 seconds).
Roll the cold kedgeree risotto into fishy balls about 3 - 4 cm diameter.
Dredge the balls first in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs and deep fry for a few minutes until golden. Don’t do too many at once so the temperature of the fat is maintained.
The arancini should be served hot immediately but can be kept warm in a low oven. A serving suggestion is to stir a few pinches of curry powder and a good squeeze of fresh lemon into some mayonnaise.