Egyptian Koshari Express with Crispy Onions

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup brown lentils
• 1 cup rice
• 1 cup small macaroni
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup neutral oil, for frying, plus 2 tbsp
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 can crushed tomatoes
• 2 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp chili flakes
• 1 can chickpeas, drained
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges
• 1 1/2 tsp fine salt, plus more to taste
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro or parsley

Steps

1. Fry the onions first, since the flavoured oil is used everywhere else. Heat the 1/2 cup oil in a deep pan over medium heat and add the sliced onions.
2. Fry for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring often, until they shrink and turn deep golden brown. Lift them out with a slotted spoon just before they look as dark as you want; they keep browning on the rack. Reserve the oil.
3. Rinse the lentils and simmer them in 3 cups water for 20 to 25 minutes, until tender but still whole. Salt them only in the last 5 minutes, then drain.
4. Rinse the rice and simmer it in 1 3/4 cups salted water, covered, over the lowest heat for 15 minutes, then leave it covered off the heat.
5. Cook the macaroni in salted boiling water until just tender, then drain and toss with a spoonful of the onion oil so it does not clump.
6. For the sauce, heat 2 tablespoons of the onion oil in a saucepan, add the garlic, cumin, coriander, and chili, and stir for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, vinegar, and salt and simmer for 15 minutes until thick.
7. Warm the chickpeas through in a little of the sauce.
8. Build each bowl in order: rice, then lentils, then macaroni, then chickpeas, then a generous ladle of hot sauce, and finally a heap of crisp onions. Serve with the cilantro and lemon wedges, and do not mix until the table sees it.

Allergen note: Contains gluten.

Use the listed quantities as a guide, adjust seasoning to taste, and cook proteins to a safe internal temperature.