Black Rice Bounty Bowls

This is part 2 of a feature on Fable: From Farm to Table in Ossining, New York. You can find part 1 here.

Make the most of farm fresh produce with these vibrant, veggie-packed bowls.

There’s just something about a colorful assortment of local produce that gets me excited.

Throw a dozen fresh eggs into the mix and I.am.in.heaven.

After my morning on the farm with Tom and Anne, I was sent home with all sorts of goodies to experiment with in my tiny kitchen. I’m not gonna lie – it was hard not to just devour all of those tomatoes raw right from the pint, but I showed a bit of restraint.

I took one of each type of tomato (which included heirloom varieties such as Cosmonaut Volkov, Sunkist, Pink Boar, Green Zebra and Indigo Rose), cut small pieces for myself, my husband, and my 4-year-old, and we had a good ol’ tomato tasting.

It’s basically a science experiment, right?

I liked ’em all, because I really have never met a (ripe) tomato that I didn’t like. My son liked the Green Zebra and Indigo Rose best, and we ended up going back to the farm the following week to buy more.

But I digress.

Have you ever cooked with black rice? Or perhaps you’ve heard of it referred to as forbidden rice. Either way, it’s a delicious, bold, colorful way to change up your dinner game.

I decided to take a variety of the produce that I got from the farm (most of which was in the ground or on the vine just hours before I brought it home), sauté it together, and serve it on top of some of that aromatic black rice.

Once the veggies were ready, I took the pan off the heat and stirred in some butter and fresh herbs. It added a nice richness, and the herbs really brightened the dish up. It was a bold mix of herbs, but they really worked well together.

And what better way to finish off a dish like this than to put an egg on it?

I’ve been experimenting with my Instant Pot a lot lately, and hard or soft boiling eggs is one of my favorite ways to use it. For this dish, I pressure cooked the eggs while I was sautéing the veggies, and topped the bowls with them right at the end.

I love that runny yolk, but feel free to use hard boiled if that’s more your style. You could even pop a fried egg right on top.

If you haven’t tried farm fresh eggs before, I beg you to give them a shot. The flavor is so much richer than the ones you buy at the store, and it’s always fun to get to know the farmers and animals behind the food you eat. My son loved meeting the chickens at Fable, and after eating his bounty bowl, he dubbed their eggs, “the best eggs I ever had!”. He also really enjoyed the black rice.

All of the produce was top notch. And something that struck me was that the package of thyme contained the most delicate sprigs I’ve ever encountered. I honestly don’t even think I would have had to strip the leaves off of the stems. So tender!

Feel free to use this recipe as a starting point to use up any mix of veggies and herbs that you have on hand. There are so many fun combinations to try out, and so many ways to top these bowls, too.

I think I’ll do a crispy fried egg with a runny yolk next time…

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