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A Curry of Salmon
Remove all bits of skin and bone from a can of salmon. Fry a minced onion in 2 tablespoonfuls of olive oil. When the onion becomes brown, stir in a tablespoonful of flour mixed with a teaspoonful of curry powder, and when these are well blended together add a large cupful of boiling water. Season with salt and paprika, and turn the salmon into the saucepan. Cook two minutes, then serve.
A quick store-cupboard curry from the era when canned salmon was a novelty worth cooking with. The whole dish takes about fifteen minutes.
- The canPeriod cans of salmon were commonly around 1 lb; a modern 14.75 oz can is the nearest equivalent, and two 6 oz cans will serve at a slightly smaller scale. The recipe does not say to drain it, but if you do, keep the liquid, which can replace part of the boiling water.
- Skin and boneThe instruction to remove skin and bone still applies to traditional canned salmon. The soft vertebrae are edible and a useful source of calcium, so leave them in if you prefer and mash them into the flakes.
- Cook the curry powderThe hinge of the dish is the moment the flour and curry powder go into the hot oil. Give them a full minute of stirring before any liquid arrives, or the sauce tastes of raw spice and dusty flour.
- A large cupfulRead this as about 8 to 10 fl oz. Add it gradually rather than all at once so the roux does not seize into lumps.
- Two minutes is correctCanned salmon is already fully cooked. Longer simmering breaks the flakes into mush, so fold it in gently, heat through, and take the pan off the heat.
- Curry powder strengthCommercial curry powders of this period were generally turmeric- and coriander-forward, though blends varied in heat. A teaspoon of a modern blend may read paler than expected in a full can of fish; taste and add more, plus a squeeze of lemon at the end.
- Yield and servingServes two to three over rice, or on buttered toast. The recipe itself gives no serving instruction.