Za’atar Hot-Honey Carrot Rice Bowl with Fried Eggs (2 servings)

Full recipe — serves 2
Less left over? Make half with half the saved food and half the added ingredients.
AI-generated leftover idea inspired by Mary’s original recipe. This variation has not been tested by Mary.
Ingredients
- Reserve 2 cups cooked za’atar-spiced carrots (about half the batch — roughly 4 medium carrots). leftover Za’atar-Spiced Sweet and Spicy Carrots
- 1 cup long-grain white or brown rice (uncooked) — yields about 2 cups cooked
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or scallion for garnish
- 1 cup baby spinach (packed)
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil (canola or vegetable) for frying
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce or to taste
Directions
- Cook 1 cup rice according to package directions (for white rice: 1 cup rice + 1 3/4 cups water, bring to boil then simmer 15 minutes), then fluff and keep warm (yield about 2 cups cooked).
- While rice cooks, warm a nonstick skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon neutral oil. Add the reserved 2 cups chopped cooked carrots and sauté 2–3 minutes until warmed through and edges show a little color; add the 1 cup baby spinach and toss until wilted, 30–45 seconds.
- Season the carrot-spinach mix with 1 teaspoon soy sauce and a grind of black pepper; remove from heat.
- In the same skillet, add a little more oil if needed and reduce heat to medium-low. Crack 2 eggs into the skillet and fry to preference: for runny yolks, cook 2–3 minutes until whites set and edges crisp but yolks still jiggly (cover 30 seconds for whites to finish). For fully set yolks cook 4–5 minutes.
- Divide 2 cups cooked rice between two bowls. Top each bowl with half the carrot-spinach mixture (about 1 cup) and one fried egg. Drizzle an additional 1/2 teaspoon hot honey over each egg if you want more sweetness/heat.
- Garnish each bowl with chopped parsley or scallion and an extra pinch of za’atar if desired. Serve immediately, breaking the yolk into the rice to mix.