Inspiration for new dishes comes from random events and places for me like when I’m brushing my teeth or gargling and then from some pretty predictable places like cookbooks, but I must say not many cookbooks and/or recipes truly inspire me, like make my heart skip a beat or two~~like when I literally want to take the cookbook to bed with me, prop up my pillow and just read it like a novel. Yeah yeah, I know that’s probably bordering on pathetically sick and insane!
There’s just a few cookbooks that I’ve come across that do the latter for me~~make me kinda like my kitty, Callie, when she has a catnip toy~~makeuh my headuh crrrrraaaaazeeee! One of those cookbooks is Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi’s entitled Jerusalem~~A Cookbook. I’m like Callie on catnip~~deliriously happy~~as I go through drooling over the photos, reading the backstories, and imagining the flavors, textures and tastes. This is my type of cuisine~~rustic, global, historical, vintage, legacies of spices and food that is extraordinarily healthy. Of course, I’m not likely to follow the recipe(s) exactly~~it’s my nature to ‘boho’ and make it ‘Bohemian Bold’ putting my ‘ally’ stamp on it~~isn’t that what life’s about? Recognizing your fabulously amazing self in everything you do~~because there’s none other like you~~never forget that YOU cannot be replicated, so be you!
Serves: 2-4
What you need:
1/2 c. black rice
1/3 c. black quinoa
(Note: Can use only rice or quinoa, but the mixture is an interesting texture combo!)
1 c. chicken broth
1 c. water
1/4 tsp. sea salt
4 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. chopped garlic
2 tbsp. chopped shallots
6 leaves of Tuscan kale cut into slivers (can substitute regular kale or another green)
1 tbsp. pine nuts (optional)
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. sea salt (divided)
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
½ lemon (juice)
4 eggs
8 cherry tomatoes sliced in half lengthwise
1/3 cup roughly chopped cilantro and flat Italian parsley including some of the stems with the leaves
What you do:
In a medium, microwave-safe bowl, combine the rice, quinoa, chicken broth, water and salt. Cover with a microwave-safe plate and microwave about 22 minutes on high until fluffy. Remove and with a fork mix. Recover and set aside.
In a 10″ skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium heat, put the olive oil and sauté about 2 minutes the garlic and shallots. Reduce heat to low and add the sliced kale. Sprinkle on the cumin, ½ teaspoon salt, red pepper flakes and blend. Add the lemon juice and blend. Add the cooked rice/quinoa into this mixture and blend.
Reduce heat to low. Crack the eggs on top of the greens and add the tomatoes, cover with a glass lid. Let the eggs steam, about 5-7 minutes, until sunnyside or yolks runny.
Plating & Serving~~With a large spoon scoop a helping onto a plate or into a small bowl (with at least one egg in each serving). Dollop on a scoop of Spicy Labneh Sauce and garnish with the chopped parsley/cilantro.
