I've probably watched the Egypt episode of Anthony Boudain's No Reservations at least four times at this point, but this is the first time that watched him eat koshary and decided I had to have it.

To be sure, the dish sounds slightly off. You might have read about it here on SE last month. It's a combination of rice, lentils, and pasta (!), which is then topped with a vinegary tomato and garlic sauce, and caramelized onions. It looks slightly ridiculous, but apparently it's one of the most popular dishes in Cairo, and for some reason last night it just sounded absolutely perfect. Sometimes you need a steak, and other times you need a carb fest like this one.

Unfortunately, it was hard to find a recipe that looked similar to the one mentioned on the show. Eventually I had to forge a challenging recipe alliance between one of the most comically written Gourmet pieces ever written and The Vegetarian Resource Group. It's a really easy recipe, even if there are loads of different components. The trick is that you have to cook everything separately, and then combine at the last second. It helps to start with the onions, then just let them patiently cook over low heat for the full hour, and remember to stir them from time to time.