Sauteed Veggies, Fried Eggs and a Rice Tower

This last weekend I was a bit under the weather and wanted something hearty but not too heavy.  I originally thought to Tortilla Espanole but that was too much work and I am horrible at flipping it.  I then remembered an amazing dish I would eat while studying abroad in Madrid. It was essentially a tower of rice covered in tomato sauce with a soft boiled egg hiding in the center.  it was easy and delicious. I thought I would recreate it with my own twist.

I made 2 cups of plain white rice in the rice cooker and while that steamed away I sliced up  some kale and spinach, onions, garlic, a can of diced tomatoes, and some mushrooms and sauteed it all in a  cast iron pan with some extra virgin olive oil.  I put in the onions first so they would brown and then added everything else so the spinach would not get too soggy. I liked using the cast iron for this because it get nice and hot and it would also be great for the eggs.  While everything was sauteeing, I tossed in some sage, paprika and basil.



Once the rice was done, I took a coffee cup and packed it full of the rice then tipped it upside down on the plate and jiggled it a bit till it slid out. I then surround the tower of carbs with the sauteed veggies.  I then soft fried two eggs in the hot cast iron skillet (add some extra oil to prevent sticking).  Watch the eggs carefully and pour a bit of the hot oil over the top to help it cook evenly.  You will want the egg soft (aka runny yolk) for this dish.  I plated the dish as you can see in the photo.  Points for height at least.  But it was not just about plating it was also about how the dish wants to be eaten.

You want to try to get a forkful of rice with some veggies on top and a bit of egg in every bite.  So the plating helped make that possible.

And it was good!  I cracked some extra salt, pepper and paprika (mostly for color) on top and then we dug in.  It was filling, warm and delicious!  It was also reasonably healthy.

Next time, I want to add mushrooms and red peppers and possibly hide something inside the rice tower like a goat cheese.

This is an easy, adaptable and fun dish to make!  So toss all of those misc veggies in your fridge on the skillet, crack some eggs and steam some rice...time for a Rice Tower!