Felix’s fiery smoked haddock and eggs

Summer

Smoked haddock is made by lightly salting the fillets, then cold smoking them. The smoke itself is relatively cool, so the fish remains raw, and usually needs cooking in one way or another (although very thin slices of raw smoked haddock served with a squeeze of lemon are exceptional). In this recipe the smoked fish marinates for a while in yogurt, dill, lemon and curry powder before being grilled over a medium-hot fire. It’s doubly smoky and hot in the hot-hot sense. I think it’s incredible eaten on toast with soft-boiled eggs and plenty of coriander for breakfast, but you could easily serve it with rice and a big spoonful of fruity chutney.

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 smoked haddock fillets (each 150–200g / 5–7oz)
1 or 2 eggs, depending how hungry you are
2 thick slices of sourdough bread

For the Marinade

3 tablespoons natural (plain) yogurt
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
juice of ½ lemon
a handful of dill, chopped
2 teaspoons medium-hot curry powder
1 teaspoon runny honey
1 teaspoon chilli flakes

To Finish

extra-virgin olive oil
A handful of coriander (cilantro), leaves picked
½ lemon
a good pinch of chilli flakes
freshly ground black pepper

Method

Put all the marinade ingredients into a bowl and stir them all together.

Place the smoked haddock fillets in the marinade and set them aside for at least an hour – you could even leave them overnight in the fridge, if you like.

Light your fire. It doesn’t need to be big, but it needs to be hot. Set down a grill over the fire and bring a small pan of water to a boil. Carefully drop in the eggs and cook for about 5½ minutes. Lift the eggs from the water, and once they’re cool enough, peel them and cut them in half.

While your eggs are boiling, scoop the fish out of the marinade, taking as much of the marinade with you as possible. Place the fillets skin-side down on the grill. Cook the haddock for about 5 minutes, then turn it over and cook for a further minute or so. You’ll be able to see whether the fish is cooked by inserting the tip of a knife into the fillet and checking if the flakes come apart. When the fish is nearly cooked, grill the bread over the fire until toasted.

Put the toasted bread on a plate and drizzle the slices with extra-virgin olive oil. Place the haddock on the toast and arrange the egg halves alongside. Finish with the coriander (cilantro) leaves, a squeeze of lemon, a pinch of chilli flakes and some freshly ground black pepper.

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