Mujadara with Crispy Onions

From the garden

• 4 large yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced
• ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped

From the pantry

• 1 cup brown or green lentils, rinsed and picked over
• 1 cup long-grain rice, rinsed until the water runs clear
• ½ cup neutral oil · for frying the onions; strain what is left and keep it for the next pot
• 1½ tsp ground cumin
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges
• salt · to taste
• black pepper

1. Simmer the lentils with the bay leaf in 4 cups of water until barely tender, about 20 minutes. Drain, saving the cooking liquid, and discard the bay leaf. They will finish in the rice.
2. Heat the oil in a wide skillet over medium and fry the sliced onions in two batches, stirring often, until deeply browned and crisp at the edges, 18–20 minutes a batch. Do not rush this.
3. Lift the onions onto paper towels with a slotted spoon, salt them lightly, and set a third of the pile aside for the top. Pour off all but 3 tablespoons of the oil.
4. Return the pan to medium heat, add the cumin and the rice, and toast 2 minutes until the grains smell nutty. Stir in the lentils and the larger share of the onions with plenty of salt and pepper.
5. Pour in 2 cups of the reserved lentil liquid, topped up with water if short, bring to a boil, then cover and cook on the lowest heat 15 minutes. Rest off the heat 10 minutes.
6. Fluff with a fork, fold through most of the parsley, and pile the crisp reserved onions on top. Serve warm with lemon wedges and the last of the parsley scattered over.