Zucchini Rice with Ground Beef
The beef is left alone until its water has cooked off and it starts to pop in the pan — that sound is the point where it stops steaming and starts browning. The garlic goes in off the heat, so it perfumes the pan without catching.
Rinse the rice under cold water until the water running off it is clear, then cook it per the package — a rice cooker is easiest, the stovetop is fine. Set it aside to sit while everything else happens.
Put the ground beef in a pan over medium heat and break it up with a wooden spatula as it cooks, 8 to 10 minutes. It gives up its water first and only browns once that has gone, so wait for the sound to change from a hiss to a pop before you judge it. Season with the salt and pepper.
Drop the heat to medium-low, add the onion and zucchini, and cook, stirring now and then, until they have softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and take the pan off the heat — what is left in it is enough to take the raw edge off the garlic without browning it.
Fold in the dill and the cooked rice. Mix gently and only until it is combined; pressing it together packs the grains into a paste, and the point of rinsing the rice was to keep them separate.
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