Celebrity square meals: Rupert Thomson's Catalan kedgeree

Serves 4-6

I move about quite a bit - I've lived in Rome, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Sydney, New York, LA - and five months ago I came to Barcelona. That's where I devised this recipe. Kedgeree is great for a hangover, but when I went to the local fishmonger I realised that smoked haddock doesn't exist around here. That's when I started changing things.

I move about quite a bit - I've lived in Rome, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Sydney, New York, LA - and five months ago I came to Barcelona. That's where I devised this recipe. Kedgeree is great for a hangover, but when I went to the local fishmonger I realised that smoked haddock doesn't exist around here. That's when I started changing things.

First, I bought any white fish. Next I needed a smokey flavour so I bought some smoked salmon in the supermarket. When I couldn't get lemons that day - and I've no idea why that was - I knew I had a task on my hands.

I suppose it's a kind of curried fish risotto. It's great. We had Italian friends staying and they loved it.

500g white fish
4 slices smoked salmon
4 limes
4 eggs
400g paella rice
Flat-leaf parsley
1 Spanish red onion
Butter, for frying
3tsp hot curry powder
2tsp Marigold Swiss bouillon powder
Salt and pepper

Put the white fish in a pan, cover with water and simmer until cooked. At the last minute, add the salmon to warm it, then drain, flake and keep warm.

Chop the onion and fry with the curry powder in butter. Add the rice and fry for a few minutes. Add the liquor from the fish (about a pint), and the bouillon powder. Cook with the lid on, stirring and topping up as necessary.

Hard-boil the eggs, separate the yolks from the whites. Chop the whites, grate the yolks. When the rice is cooked, mix in the fish, and egg whites, and the juice of three limes. Put the yolks and parsley on top.

Rupert Thomson's latest novel is 'Divided Kingdom' (Bloomsbury, £17.99)