After loving Poached Eggs over Quinoa, I branched out to this, with a great side of roasted veggies. Yum. The California short grain brown rice is beautiful; chewy, nutty, and fluffy. The eggs, with their lovely runny yolks, are great over the rice, and the veggies, laced with caramelized onions, are wonderful (and add a wonderful feeling of virtue to breakfast time).

While the rice cooks, you roast the veggies. I started them out on the stove top in a cast iron skillet, slowly sautéing the onion, and then the garlic. Toss the veggies in last, stir, and transfer the skillet to a 375° oven. They’ll be done when the rice is, giving you plenty of time to get your eggs poaching and a pot of tea steeping.

Poached Eggs over Brown Rice & Roasted Veggies

1/2 cup short grain California brown rice

1/2 red onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 zucchini, quartered lengthwise
1 yellow bell pepper, in ~1.5cm chunks

Butter, as needed

4 eggs
Butter, for the poaching dish

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Rinse the brown rice thoroughly and get it cooking as per the package directions.

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Melt some butter in it and sauté the onion. Once it’s soft, add the garlic and cook, stirring, another minute or two. Then add a bit more butter and the zucchini & bell pepper. Stir to combine and then pop the pan in the preheated oven. You’ll need about 20 minutes of roasting time.

While the veggies roast, grease up your poaching tray (or start heating some water for poaching the eggs the proper/annoying way, but I won’t be giving instructions on that today).

When there’s about 5 minutes left on the veggies & rice (the veggies should be starting to get caramelized, browned bits on sides when you stop for stirring), boil about 2cm of water in a shallow pan that has a lid and can hold your poacher. Steam your eggs in said pan, covered, in the poaching tray, until they’re the way you like ’em. I highly recommend runny yolks, which means about 5 minutes of cooking where I live.

Pull the veggies from the oven, and stir a bit of butter into the rice. Serve the eggs over a generous scoop of rice and lots of veggies. Don’t forget the salt & pepper!