Saturday, April 12, 2014

K is for Kingfisher and Kedgeree

K
Amazon KingfisherThe Kingfisher is such a pretty bird and I believe wonderful to watch. Sinlaw Mike has done several paintings of these gorgeous little birds. (See link at the side). Most species are found outside the Americas, there are roughly 90 species of these brightly coloured birds. In Britain the word Kingfisher generally refers to the CommCommon Kingfisheron Kingfisher. Some of the species are threatened with extinction which seems very sad as they are so attractive. The first picture shows the Amazon Kingfisher which is one of the few species found in the Americas. The second picture is of the Common Kingfisher seen in the British Isles and other parts of Europe. I know Mike has painted at least one Kingfisher he found in Singapore which he has shown in past issues of his blog The Scolopax Chronicles.

Kedgeree is originally an Indian dish which the British brought back to England after they had spent time in India. There appear to be many versions of it, I know Nigella Lawson makes a version with canned salmon, but I always loved the recipe my father made, however non-authentic. The only trouble is, he used to make it with smoked haddock which is something you can very rarely find where I live. I have made it with smoked cod which is occasionally available. I like lots of butter on mine! I think I used this for K last year, but it is a favourite.

Kedgeree

1 lb smoked haddock (smoked cod can be substituted)Kedgeree
Milk to cover
1 cup long grain rice (Basmati is best)
Butter
seasoning
2 hard cooked eggs.

1. First poach the haddock in the milk until the fish flakes easily. Remove the fish,  break it up and make sure there is no skin or bones left. Meanwhile cook the rice as directed on the package. Melt a large knob of butter (2 oz.) in a saucepan and add the rice and fish and cook, stirring, til warmed through. You may need more butter, I use lots when making this. Taste for seasoning and add if required. Slice the eggs and remove the yolks. Turn the fish and rice onto a serving dish, decorate with the slices of egg white and then sieve the yolks over the top. As a variation you can add a dash of cayenne and/or a teaspoon of curry powder blended into the butter. You can also add thick cream at the end, if you wish and don’t care about cholesterol.
2. You can decorate the final dish with more hard cooked eggs and even parsley if you wish.

Have a great weekend
Jo (2)

30 comments:

  1. Unfortunately our Kingfisher is anything but Common now.

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    1. I have never seen one but sinlaw finds them somewhere in order to paint them. I think there is a place in Norfolk where he used to see them.

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  2. I have never seen a kingfisher. Wonder if we have them on the east coast?

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    1. Nor me JoJo. I don't think they are on the east coast.

      Apparently they are scarce in the UK nowadays too.

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  3. Replies
    1. It's so they don't have to bother with fishing rods.

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  4. I have seen many Kingfisher here ...pretty Birds :)!

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  5. Lucky you. I would love to see them. I hate to think of them disappearing as well.

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  6. Interesting bird, long beak! When I was in Alaska I got to see the migration of a great many birds to the north slope. Even, almost rescued a golden plover...

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    1. That must be exciting. A friend used to live in Malaysia and they used to see a lot of migrating birds at one particular time of the year.

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  7. So cool that we picked the same bird for K. They are cute little creatures.

    Brandon Ax: Writer's Storm

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    1. They are, aren't they. Have you ever seen one?

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  8. We have 10 species of Kingfisher in Australia. I'm sure our famous Kookaburra is related somehow!

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    Replies
    1. It does kind of look like one doesn't it?

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  9. Hi Jo,

    Ah yes, the Kingfisher, a magnificent bird and I once had a fleeting glimpse of a Kingfisher near Rudyard Lake. The lake that Rudyard Kipling was named after.

    Thank you for this and the recipe.

    Gary

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  10. I don't think they visit Colorado. The colors are beautiful. I will check in my bird book.

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  11. Never heard of this dish. Sounds interesting though a bit bland if you don't add the spices.

    Lee
    Wrote By Rote
    An A to Z Co-host blog

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    1. I never found it bland, if you can get real smoked haddock it has a fantastic flavour of its own. But that's the problem on this of the Atlantic.

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  12. Kingfisher are too cute! And their names certainly match their looks. They do look like tiny royalty. ;)

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    1. Never thought of that before. You are right.

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  13. Visiting from A/Z; I like your theme for the challenge. The Kingfisher is a pretty bird; shame they don't make their home in the states.

    Enjoy the rest of the challenge!

    betty

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    1. Hi Betty, nice of you to drop by. It is pretty, but then I lived in England for the first half of my life and never saw them there.

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  14. HI, Jo,

    What a charming little bird. SO pretty and colorful.

    AND,,, what a delicious looking meal. I must try this recipe! Thanks for sharing.

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    1. And apparently so scarce, at least in England.

      Hope you can find the smoked fish.

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  15. I, too, love kingfishers....never had the haddock dish. (www.reflectionsenroute.com)

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    1. My father used to make it often, and so did I in the UK.

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  16. Hi Jo - we have one naturalist who loves Kingfishers and I've seen his tv programmes round his home .. stunning birds ... I'm not sure I've seen one.

    Kedgeree .. I just love too - I can't believe Nigella uses tinned salmon - yugh!!! I love kedgeree .. but tend to make a fish pie now-a-days .. but there's nothing like a warm kedgeree with lots of butter as you say ..

    Re Lee of The Write Game - you need to visit this J post: http://writegame.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/a-to-z-blog-challenge-letter-j-small.html

    Cheers Hilary

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