Tomato Baked Rice > Kedgeree

This combines two things I love - baked rice and clever meal plans. This particular example comes from a book called Weekly Provisions by Kim Duke. The book didn’t yield as much as I had hoped from the premise, but this pair of recipes has gone into my regular rotation. In the reproduction below I have ventured to correct the absence of salt, in my view quite essential to a rice dish, and the rather serious misinformation on the amount of water provided. Thankfully having done baked rice before I realised the ratio specified was wildly off - anyone doing this for the first time according to the quantities in the book would be seriously disappointed.

20 cherry tomatoes (give or take a few)

Ground spices - 1 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp turmeric

2 tbsp garlic paste

90 ml flavourless oil (I use sunflower)

400g white basmati rice

Preheat oven to Gas 6 (200C/400F)

In a large baking dish, combine tomatoes, spices, garlic paste, oil, and pinch of salt. Bake 10-12 mins.

Tomatoes should be slightly burst. Add rice and stir to thoroughly mix with the spice blend. Add 800 ml of boiling water and another good pinch or two of salt, stir to combine, cover with foil or lid.

Bake for 25-30 mins - rice will be slight crispy on top and fluffy beneath.

This recipe advises it serves 4 with 1/3 (200g) to be refrigerated airtight for the kedgeree next dinner. If you are 2 rather than 4, you may have enough besides this to have leftovers for lunch as well.

This is such a flexible side - so far have served with sausages, pork chops, salmon, lamb burgers.

Next day - Haddock Kedgeree!

1 tbsp flavourless oil

100g (or more!) haddock

2 spring onions, finely sliced

about 200g leftover tomato baked rice

small knob of butter

Optional additions to serve:

2 hard boiled eggs, peeled and halved

Sliced spring onions

Coriander leaves

Heat oil in large frying pan, medium high heat.

Add smoked haddock and spring onions, reduce heat. Fry for 2-3 minutes, breaking up haddock into bite size pieces. Remove skin from haddock if not done already.

Add tomato baked rice, 100 ml of water, knob of butter. (Original recipe calls for a stock cube here as well but I’ve never used this as there’s plenty of flavour without). Cook further 2-3 mins here until haddock is fully cooked.

Serve with the additions above.