Tacu Tacu & Fried Egg

📝 Ingredients

• 300 g long-grain rice cooked the day before (about 100 g uncooked)
• 1 tin white beans (265 g drained)
• 1 brown onion (about 100 g)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp sweet paprika + ½ tsp ground cumin
• 2.5 tbsp sunflower oil (1 for the onion, 1 for the patties, 0.5 for the eggs)
• 4 eggs
• 1 red onion (about 100 g)
• 1 tomato (about 120 g)
• 1 lime
• 10 g fresh coriander (about 10 sprigs)
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Large non-stick frying pan (28 cm)
• Wide spatula
• Mixing bowl
• Fork
• Chopping board and knife
• Bowl

📖 Steps

1. If the rice isn't already cooked, cook it in boiling salted water according to the packet instructions, drain it, spread it out on a plate and leave it to cool for at least 1 hour in the fridge: cold, dry rice holds together much better in a patty.
2. Make the salsa criolla: peel the red onion, halve it, then cut it into very thin slices and rinse them for 1 minute under cold water to mellow their flavour. Drain and mix them in a bowl with the finely diced tomato, the lime juice, the chopped coriander, salt and pepper.
3. Drain and rinse the white beans, then roughly mash them with a fork in a mixing bowl, leaving a few whole pieces for texture. Peel and finely chop the brown onion and the garlic.
4. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Fry the onion for 5 minutes until soft and translucent, then add the garlic, paprika and cumin and cook for 1 more minute, stirring, without letting the garlic burn.
5. Tip this mixture into the bowl with the mashed beans and the rice, and season with salt (½ tsp) and pepper. Mix, pressing with the back of the spoon, until you get a paste that holds together well when you squeeze a handful in your hand.
6. Wipe out the pan and heat 1 tbsp of oil in it over medium-high heat. Shape 2 oval patties 2 cm thick with wet hands, place them in the pan and press them down with the spatula. Cook for 6 to 7 minutes without touching them, until the underside forms a golden crust.
7. Carefully turn the patties with a wide spatula and cook for another 5 minutes on the other side. If they crack, simply reshape them with the spatula: the crust re-forms as they cook. Transfer them to the plates.
8. In the same pan, heat the remaining oil over medium heat and crack in the eggs. Cook them for 3 to 4 minutes, until the whites are completely set and the yolks still runny, then season lightly with salt.
9. Place 2 fried eggs on each tacu tacu and serve immediately with the well-drained salsa criolla on the side: its crunchy acidity balances the soft rice and beans.