crisped rice w/carrots, chickpeas + mojo de ajo w/sweet potato wedges, goat cheese, olive rig + za’atar chili oil

These crisped rice patties are somewhere between risotto al salto—a pan-fried cake made with leftover risotto—and the crisped rice bowl from Ria Barbosa at Sqirl LA. The egg binds the rice into clusters, but if you are avoiding eggs you will certainly have good (if crumbly) results by simply pan frying the rice on its own. The key is the textural difference between the crunchy exterior and the starchy interior. Note: Freshly cooked rice doesn’t fry up as quickly as drier rice that’s a few days old. At home, I like this dish as one big weird salad sort of thing. In a restaurant, I would keep the rice as a medium-size pancake, with the carrot, chickpea, and spinach salad delicately piled on top for aesthetics.

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Step 1

Preheat the oven heat to 400°F [200°C]. Toss the carrots with a pinch of salt and a couple of glugs of olive oil. Arrange on a baking sheet and roast until tender and caramelized, about 40 minutes.

Step 2

Add the chickpeas to the carrot-filled baking sheet and return to the oven for an additional 5 minutes to warm.

Step 3

Combine the cooked rice and egg with a pinch of salt. In a medium frying pan, heat a couple of glugs of neutral oil over medium-high heat until it begins to shimmer, about 1 minute. Add the rice/egg mixture and pan fry until the outside is golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the rice, breaking up any large pieces into little clusters, and fry the other side, 1 to 2 minutes.

Step 4

To serve, toss the carrots, chickpeas, crisped rice clusters, and spinach together in a bowl and dress with the mojo to taste and a couple pinches of salt.

Step 5

Make the crisped rice clusters as in the main recipe. Cut 2 lb [900 g] of sweet potatoes into large wedges and roast in a 400°F [200°C] oven until deeply caramelized and cooked through, 25 to 35 minutes. Lay the sweet potato wedges on a serving platter. Scatter the clusters all over. Dot with 2 to 4 oz [60 to 120 g] of fresh goat cheese, and dollop 1/2 cup [120 g] of Olive Rig (page 49) all over. Spoon the Za’atar Chili Oil (page 40) liberally over the whole thing and scatter with a handful of chopped parsley (optional).