Curried Haddock & Seafood over Rice paired with Turkish Chardonnay

This is a very popular recipe in Iceland. I usually only make it when I have access to very fresh fish and seafood, which is normally when I’m visiting Iceland. However, a going to a great local fishmonger will probably be cheaper than flying to Iceland! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family does!!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups rinsed Basmati rice
• 4 cups cold water
• 2 Tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 leeks trimmed, chopped (use only the green part) and rinsed
• 3 red bell peppers chopped into 2cm wide square pieces
• 600 grams of double cream (I tried this with single cream and it separates.)
• 3 Tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons paprika
• 2 Tablespoons curry powder
• 450 grams pineapple chunks in juice (save the juice!!!)
• 800 grams fresh haddock fillets cut into 3cm square pieces
• 2 Tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 2-3 cloves of chopped garlic
• 300 grams fresh scallops (baby ones or larger)
• 300 grams cooked baby prawns (sometimes I use frozen ones)
• sea salt
• fresh ground pepper
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• freshly chopped coriander leaves

Method:

Begin by setting the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan. Begin by preparing all the ingredients first. This recipe goes quickly and you want to be ready to roll!!!

Basmati Rice: Start by rinsing the 2 cups of Basmati rice under cold water in a pot. Rinse it 3 times. Then add 4 cups of water. to the pot. Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat to low, place the lid on top and simmer for 15 minutes. When the rice is finished, remove from the heat but don’t take off the lid. After 3 minutes, remove the lid and fork the rice gently to break up any chunks. Then put the lid back on to keep the heat in.

Curry Vegetables and Haddock: While the rice is cooking. Melt 2 Tablespoons of olive oil in a Dutch oven or other oven proof dish with a lid over medium-high heat. Add the chopped leaks and sauté for 1 minute. Then add the red and green peppers and cook for another 2 minutes. You don’t want to cook the vegetables too long because they will continue to cook in the oven later. Then add the double cream and stir together. Mix in the Worcestershire sauce, paprika and curry powder. Then add the pineapple chunks and their juice. Stir everything together and bring to a subtle simmer. Just before baking in the oven, add the haddock chunks and some salt and pepper to season.

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

Seafood: While the dish is baking, get the scallops, large prawns and baby prawns ready to cook. About 10 minutes before the dish is ready to come out of the oven, heat 2 Tablespoons of unsalted butter in a cast iron skillet until hot. Add the chopped garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Then add the scallops and large uncooked prawns. Cook them for about 2 minutes (1 minute on each side). The scallops will become slightly golden brown with little separations and the large prawns will turn pink when they’re done. Just before both are finished, add the cooked baby prawns and mix together with the scallops and large prawns. This will make sure the baby prawns are warm but not overcooked cooked. Take them off the heat quickly after mixing together.

Remove the dish from the oven, carefully take off the lid and add the remaining seafood. Mix together carefully. Season with salt and fresh pepper to taste.

Serve the curried haddock and seafood over the Basmati rice. Garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, freshly ground black pepper, and freshly chopped coriander leaves.

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