An intriguing and refreshing hot-cold combo of eggy rice, butter, cold cucumber sauce and pickles
When cooking on a weeknight, it’s easy to forget that sometimes experimenting with temperature is as important as flavour. Hot things combined with very cold things are exceptionally refreshing in the summer, and also make the mundane more exciting and playful. This dish of hot rice, hot butter, cold cucumber sauce, hot egg and cold pickles might sound, well, a bit weird, but I promise it’s delicious, comforting and also cooling.
200g Japanese short-grain riceSalt and black pepper
2 medium eggs40g soft salted butter
3 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
For the pickled cucumbers200g baby cucumbers, or the same quantity of a large cucumber1 tsp flaky sea salt3 tbsp caster sugar
75g white-wine vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small handful fresh dill, leaves picked and chopped½ tsp dried mint
For the cucumber sauce1 large cucumber, peeled and deseeded100g creme fraiche
1 very generous pinch flaky salt 1 garlic clove, peeled1 ice cube
Start with the pickles. Slice the cucumber into rounds, put them in a heatproof bowl, add the salt and toss to coat. In a second heatproof bowl, mix 75ml just-boiled water with the sugar and vinegar, then pour this over the cucumber and set aside while you make everything else.
Wash the rice under cold water until it runs clear, then drain. If you have a rice cooker, use that. Otherwise, put the rice in a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid and add 250ml cold water and a pinch of salt. Put the pan on a medium heat, bring it to a boil, then turn down the heat as low as possible and cover the pan with the lid. Leave the rice to cook for eight minutes, then take off the heat, and set aside, still covered, for 10 minutes, so it absorbs all the water.
Meanwhile, blitz the peeled and deseeded cucumber in a blender with the creme fraiche, salt and garlic, until smooth. Transfer to the fridge with the ice cube to keep it lovely and cool.
Cook the eggs in boiling water for seven minutes, then rinse under cold running water until they’re just cool enough to peel.
Dress the pickled cucumber with the olive oil, dill and dried mint. Pile spoonfuls of the rice into the centre of two wide, shallow bowls, then dot with the soft butter – it will melt and pool in the rice (heaven). Pour the cucumber sauce around the rice, top with the pickles, the peeled and halved fudgy eggs, and some shredded spring onion, then serve with plenty of salt and pepper on the eggs.
Good Time Cooking: Show-Stopping Menus for Easy Entertaining, by Rosie Mackean, is published by Pavilion Books at £26. To order a copy for £23.40, visit guardianbookshop.com
