Rice with Green Zucchini and a Soft Egg

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Fried onion

1. 1
   Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStovePot
2. 2
   Add the onion and fry 5–8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
3. 3
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.

For the Boiled Egg

1. 4
   Bring a pot of water to a boil, deep enough to cover the eggs by about 2 cm.

   StovePot
2. 5
   Gently lower the eggs into it with a spoon.
3. 6
   Turn down the heat slightly and simmer 6 minutes.

   ⚙ SimmeringStove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
4. 7
   Transfer immediately to a bowl of ice water for 5–10 minutes, and peel from the wide end. Halve each egg lengthwise.

   Ice bath

   💡Cold water right after cooking stops the cooking and separates the membrane from the white: peeling is easy, and the yolk doesn't turn gray.

To assemble

1. 8
   Add the zucchini and fry 5 minutes, until it softens.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove
2. 9
   Add the rice and the cumin and stir 2 minutes, until all the grains are coated in fat.
3. 10
   Add the chicken soup, season with salt and black pepper and bring to a boil.

   Stove
4. 11
   Turn down to low, cover and simmer 18 minutes without opening the lid, until the liquid is absorbed.

   ⚙ SimmeringStoveLid
5. 12
   Turn off the heat and leave covered 5–10 minutes.

   💡Don't open the lid during cooking: the steam is what cooks the top layer. A towel between the pot and the lid absorbs the drips, so the rice doesn't get soggy.
6. 13
   Gently stir in the parsley.
7. 14
   Gently fluff with a fork and serve.
8. 15
   Top each serving with egg halves.