Earlier this year we had an incredible breakfast at Sqirl, Jessica Koslow’s beloved toast-and-rice-bowl restaurant in Silver Lake, Los Angeles. The flavors in her dishes are unexpected, bright, and fresh. I’ve been thinking about the savory bowl of rice and eggs ever since and actually thought something like it would be a beautiful addition to Christmas brunch. After all, the sweets are easy—cookies and pies and boxes of chocolates abound, cinnamon rolls and coffee cakes are sure crowd-pleasers (we’re going to include this French Toast roast); the savories can take a bit more thought if you’d like something other than a frittata to serve many.
So here’s a trick for batch-cooking soft eggs for a crowd, using Koslow’s recipe for Sorrel Rice Bowls with Poached Egg (adapted from Bon Appetit). Much of it can be prepped ahead.
For every 4 people you’ll need:
2 cups short-grain brown rice (prepared according to directions)
1 cup (lightly packed) kale leaves (ribs removed), or sorrel (Koslow’s ingredient)
¼ cup olive oil (plus extra for greasing pan)
Flaky Salt and Freshly ground black pepper
4 large eggs
1 large watermelon radish or 2 red radishes, very thinly sliced.*
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
½ preserved lemon, finely chopped (I found mine at Trader Joe’s)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill, plus extra for garnish
2 oz. feta, preferably sheep’s milk, crumbled
Optional: Hot sauce
*Embarrassing confession: I grabbed a beet instead of a watermelon radish at the market and didn’t realize it until I was finishing the meal. It actually didn’t matter terribly—the beet was delicious, too! But that should be a radish in those photos.
Purée kale or sorrel with olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Prep your other ingredients: Toss sliced radish with lemon juice and salt and set aside, and chop up your dill and lemon.
Mix your rice with your purée, preserved lemon, dill, salt and pepper to taste. You can prepare both ingredients in advance and store separately in the refrigerator for up to two days.
Now here’s the trick to cooking many eggs at once: use a muffin tin!
Grease your pan well and bake in a 350 oven for 10-12 minutes until just set. If they stick a little, don’t fret: the rice and garnishes will disguise any imperfections.
Serve rice topped with poached eggs, radish, feta, sprigs of dill, and sea salt. Add hot sauce if you like.
Or serve everything family style and let everyone compose their own!
It’s such a beautiful, bright addition to the table and a nice counterpoint to all the holiday sweets.
What do you like to eat on holiday mornings? Do you eat the same thing every time or do you mix it up?
This post is sponsored by the American Egg Board, with whose support I’ve been sharing some of my favorite ways to prepare eggs. Thank you so much for your support. Head over to their site to check out eggspert tips like when and why to use room temperature eggs, how to substitute various sizes of eggs, and best storing practices for eggs. And re-visit more of this year’s egg recipes—like that amazing French Toast. Share your favorite egg-based recipes with the hashtag #RecipeEggchange.
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