Serves 4
Breakfast rice bowls such as this have taken over Los Angeles in the last half decade. People are obsessed with them. And for good reason: they’re satisfying and healthy, and there’s just something about spooning rice and runny eggs from a bowl and into your mouth that makes you feel all wrapped up and warm; it’s like a free hug. The tomatoes called for here roast for hours to concentrate their sweetness, so if you haven’t already made them or don’t have several hours before hunger strikes, substitute sun-dried tomatoes or sliced fresh tomatoes. Looking for some variety in your life? Try the same toppings on a bowl of savory buckwheat breakfast porridge (see Buckwheat, here; or Millet Polenta, here).
1 cup long-grain brown rice (or quinoa), cooked (see here and here; about 3½ cups cooked grains)
4 poached eggs (see here)
8 halves of Slow-Roasted Tomatoes (recipe follows; or 8 sun-dried tomatoes, or 2 fresh in-season tomatoes, or 2 avocados, halved, pitted, and peeled)
2 to 3 ounces feta (¼ to ½ cup crumbled)
A big handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley and/or chives
Mound the grains into four bowls. Slide one poached egg on each bowl and nestle the tomatoes beside it. Crumble the feta over the top and use scissors to snip the herbs over the bowl.
Serves 4 to 6; makes 12 tomato halves
Slow-roasted tomatoes are like tomato candy. Cooking them this way, in a warm oven for a long time, extracts the water from tomatoes, which concentrates their flavor; slow roasting can make even an average, out-of-season tomato taste pretty darned good. These tomatoes, leftover farro or wild rice, and a dollop of yogurt is my idea of a perfect healthy working lunch. I usually make a double batch so I have these delicious little gems to eat in various ways throughout the week.
6 Roma (plum) tomatoes, stemmed and halved lengthwise
6 garlic cloves, smashed
Handful of fresh thyme sprigs (6 to 10)
¼ cup olive oil
1 heaping teaspoon kosher salt
Adjust the oven racks so one is in the middle position and preheat the oven to 300ºF.
Toss the tomatoes, garlic, thyme sprigs, olive oil, and salt in a medium baking dish (a pie dish works great for this). Turn the tomatoe halves cut-side up and roast until the tomatoes are browned and beginning to collapse, about 2 hours.
Let the tomatoes cool slightly before serving them. Store the tomatoes in a flat airtight container for up to 1 week and bring them to room temperature before serving.