Author Notes
A bowl of lentils, something green, and an egg is my go-to comfort food. It is quick (even at high altitude), easy, and I usually have everything on hand. It is great as is and I have often turned the leftovers into burgers the following day. Despite having cooked this dish dozens of times, I have never had an actual recipe and decided to write it down. —savorthis
Test Kitchen Notes
If you’ve thought you should eat more pulses and legumes, but lacked inspiration to do it, this is the dish for you! The lentils develop a wonderful, rich depth of flavor. But it’s how it comes together in the bowl with the toasted broccoli, the soft, velvety egg, and the hot buttered toast that makes it so visually and texturally satisfying. This dish, one says happily to oneself, could actually save the world!
My lentils took a full 45 minutes (at sea level) to cook. I started the lentils first and then prepared the eggs while the lentils bubbled, which I think was a better sequence than suggested. I was worried about the eggs getting cold in their bowl of warm water, but they were fine: delicious even though they were not hot. The timing of the eggs was perfect, too. The egg whites were tender and jiggly, and the yolks were beautifully runny. The challenge was peeling them without breaking or ripping the egg white. I successfully peeled without breaking just three of my four eggs. And it was stressful! Perhaps next time I will experiment with 7 minutes to see if that makes peeling easier.
Overall, a delicious, very well-conceived bowl of dinner. Lentils with this much appeal deserve to appear on the table much more often! —Shortrib
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Ingredients
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4
eggs (optional)
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3
bacon slices, thinly sliced
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1
small head broccoli (or bunch of hearty greens), stems diced, florets cut into medium-sized pieces
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1/2 cup
small dice carrots
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1/2 cup
small dice shallots (onion works too)
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1
garlic clove, minced
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1/2 cup
red wine
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1/2 cup
tangerine/clementine/orange juice
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2 cups
chicken broth
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1
bay leaf
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1 cup
lentils, rinsed and picked through
Directions
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If using eggs, fill a medium pot with 1/2 inch of water and bring to a boil. Gently add the eggs, cover and steam at a gentle simmer for 6 1/2 minutes. Have ice water ready. When done, place eggs in ice water, empty pot and return to medium heat. Peel the eggs and keep them in a bowl of warm water.
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Brown bacon and remove to a bowl with all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat. If you wish, you can brown the broccoli florets in fat briefly, then set aside (I really love toasted broccoli). If not, you can add the broccoli in at the end. Pour a touch more fat from the bacon into the pot to cook the carrots and shallot until they begin to soften. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
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Add wine and orange juice and cook until almost completely evaporated. Add the lentils, bacon, broth, and bay leaf, bring to a boil, then simmer gently. At high altitude, it often takes about 45 minutes for the lentils to cook, but it might be only 20 to 30 minutes for you. Check after about 15 minutes to see where you are. Add the broccoli stems and florets (or greens) when the broth is almost completely absorbed and let them steam for about 5 minutes. If the lentils are still crunchy, but the liquid is gone, add a bit of water and simmer until tender.
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Season to taste with salt and pepper. Dish up a hearty scoop of lentils and top with an egg. Serve with some fabulous buttered toast.
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