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This little rice bowl comes together really quickly if you already have some homemade pesto you like, a bit of cooked rice, and a favorite hot sauce. By contrast, if you actually want to make the original Sqirl pesto rice bowl, you're going to need a full month to make the Sqirl lacto-fermented jalapeno hot sauce. A good middle ground is buying fermented jalapeno slices from Trader Joe's and making the rest of the bowl "on demand". It's my favorite kind of meal: pick your level of effort and enjoy no matter which option you pick.
My level of effort choice here was admittedly as low as possible. I did buy the jalapenos with the intention of making the fermented hot sauce myself, but I didn't get around to it before I wanted to eat this pesto brown rice bowl. Plus, we have at least 5 different bottles of hot sauce in the fridge, there's not that much need for another.
Make it yours: You can dress up or down the pesto rice bowl to your hearts content. Have a ton of pesto you want to use up? Use that instead of Jessica's nut-free sorrel kale pesto. If you're serving 6 people, I'd suggest you start small, with about ¼ cup of your pesto, toss it with the rice and everything else, give it a taste, and keep adding by 1 tablespoon increments until you get to where you want to be.
Want some bacon? Add it. Want avocado too? Yep, that goes in. Don't feel like radishes? Leave them out and opt for in season produce that works well with pesto (yes, that would be the cherry tomatoes here). Can't find/don't want to make your own preserved lemon? Just add the zest from one lemon.
Original source: Sqirl
Ingredients
- 3 cups (600 grams) brown rice preferably Kokuho Rose
- sea salt
Sorrel Kale Pesto {nut-free} [or use pre-made/homemade favorite]
- ½ cup (120 mL) extra-virgin olive oil divided
- 1 lightly packed cup (25 grams) kale leaves stems removed
- 2 lightly packed cups (50 grams) sorrel leaves* chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice from 1 lemon
Rice Bowl
- 2-4 small watermelon radishes thinly sliced with mandoline
- 2 teaspoons (10 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice from 1 lemon, divided
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill chopped, plus more for serving
- 1 preserved Meyer lemon* flesh removed, peel finely chopped or zest from 1 lemon
- ¼ cup (60 mL) jalapeno hot sauce*
- ¾ cup (85 grams) sheep's milk feta crumbled
- 6 large poached eggs
- 6 pieces bacon or breakfast sausage cooked (optional)
- 1-2 medium avocados sliced
- fleur de sel
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a medium pot filled with at least 6 cups of salted water to a boil. Add the rice to the boiling water, then cook until tender, about 30-45 minutes. Drain the rice and let cool.
Sorrel Kale Pesto
- Add about ½ of the olive oil, the kale leaves (stripped off the stem), the chopped sorrel, the 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and a pinch or two of salt to the bowl of a food processor or blender. Start blending the mixture at low speed, then drizzle in the remainder of the olive oil (still at low speed) until the mixture becomes smooth. You'll need to stop and scrap down the sides several times. Taste for seasoning and add a little salt or lemon juice if desired.
Rice Bowl
- In a small bowl, toss the thinly sliced radish with 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 teaspoons of olive oil, and a pinch of salt. Let the radish marinate for a few minutes, the radish should become pliable and tender.
- In a large bowl, toss together the rice with the chopped dill, chopped preserved lemon peel, the remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and the pesto (or about ¼-⅓ cup of pre-made/homemade pesto). Taste, add a little more (homemade pesto and) salt if needed.
Assembly
- Divide the rice amongst 6 medium bowls. Spoon a line of the fermented jalapeno (or other) hot sauce across the rice. Arrange a clump of crumbled feta on one quarter, form a rosette of marinated radish slices on another quarter, drape the bacon or breakfast sausage (if using) over another corner, add the sliced avocado to the remaining quarter, then finally, gently set the poached egg in the middle of each bowl. Sprinkle the top with fleur de sel and black pepper. Finally, garnish with a sprig or two of baby dill.
Notes
Diamond Crystal kosher salt**^ [see note]
1 cup (240 mL) distilled white vinegar Put on a pair of gloves if your hands are sensitive to heat. Cut the tops off the jalapenos. Slice each pepper in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds and discard. Chop the peppers into chunks, add them to the clean bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal S-blade. Blend until mostly pureed but still chunky. Weigh the pureed jalapenos, and calculate exactly how much salt to add with this equation: grams Diamond Crystal kosher salt = grams blended jalapeno * 0.075 Stir the measured salt into the blended jalapenos. Scrape everything into a clean (washed in a hot dishwasher) wide-mouth glass jar that is slightly bigger than 1 pint (480 mL). Make a brine using the same ratio of salt to water. For example, for 2 cups (480 mL) water, you'll need to add ¼ cup (36 grams) Diamond Crystal kosher salt. Pour that brine into a plastic bag, gently sealing while pushing out as much air as possible. Place the plastic bag on top of the jalapeno mash, it should be able to weigh down the mash so it's fully submerged and completely covered, it's essential that no air can get into the mixture past the bag. Label and date the jar, then store it in a cool dark spot for 4 weeks. If you see some white mold or yeast growing on top of the mixture, skim it off and make sure the bag is still sealing out the air. After 4 weeks, transfer the fermented pepper mixture to a nonreactive pot and stir in the 1 cup (240 mL) distilled white vinegar. Bring the mash-vinegar mix to a boil, then remove it from the heat and carefully pour it into a blender jar. Puree, gradually turning up to high speed, until uniform in texture and saucy. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 6 months. **^some other brands of salt contain anti-caking agents that will mess up the fermentation. Also, not all brands of salt weigh the same.
