Poaching eggs right in the stew is so obviously genius, we are still trying to figure out why we didn’t think of this recipe sooner.
Recipe information
Yield
4 Servings
Ingredients
1
1
3
6
¼
1
2
1
1
4
4
Preparation
Step 1
Pulse onion, fennel, carrots, and chopped garlic in a food processor until soffritto is finely chopped. Heat ¼ cup oil in a large pot over medium. Add soffritto, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 10–12 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally and adding a splash of water if mixture is browning too quickly, until golden brown and very soft (it will look almost like a purée), 10–12 minutes. Add lentils and 6 cups water. Lay Parmesan rind on top (it may stick if it falls to the bottom). Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until lentils are tender, 35–45 minutes, depending on type. Taste and season with more salt.
Step 2
Meanwhile, place spinach in a glass bowl and add a splash of water and a pinch of salt. Microwave on high until bright green and slightly wilted, about 1 minute. Squeeze firmly to expel excess water, then cut in half. (If you don’t have a microwave, add the spinach directly to the pot and let it wilt slightly before making divots for eggs.) Thin stew with water by ¼-cupfuls if needed to loosen. Scatter wilted spinach across the top.
Step 3
Using the back of a spoon, create 4 divots in surface of stew and drop an egg into each. Cover pot and simmer stew very gently just until eggs are set, 8–12 minutes.
Step 4
While the eggs are cooking, heat a small saucepan over medium-high; pour in oil to come ¼" up sides. Working one at a time, fry slices of bread, turning once and adding more oil as needed, until golden brown and crisp, about 1 minute per side for each slice. Season lightly with salt and rub with garlic clove.
Step 5
Carefully divide stew and eggs among bowls, add a splash of vinegar to each, and top with Pecorino. Serve with fried bread.
Step 6
Do Ahead: Stew (without eggs and spinach) can be made 3 days ahead. Let cool; cover and chill.
Nutrition Per Serving
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Reviews (9)
Back to TopVery nice. A few tips: cook down the soffritto even more than indicated. It should turn dark and form a "fond" on the bottom of the pan that you can lift off with a few drops of water before it burns. Let the fond form 2 or 3 times. This is where flavour comes from. Also: add some thyme and/or bay leaf. No fennel? Use celery or parsnips (very riffable). Finally, DO NOT skip the vinegar and pecorino; their zing counterbalances the earthiness of the lentils and soffritto. One more thing: if (like me) you have trouble getting the eggs to cook right (I can NOT do shakshuka right to save my life) try poaching the eggs instead and laying them into the stew after plating. One more pot, but much better control over the final result. (That's how a restaurant would do it.) Another thing: you can use blanched and chopped kale instead of spinach if you prefer.
Ed Hawco
Montreal
5/2/2020
Delicious! Cook it in veg stock instead of water though - otherwise perfect! Yum!
Anonymous
London
4/16/2020
I thought this was fantastic and really used it as a base recipe. It leaves so much open to take it in any direction. I was able to clean out a bunch of stuff in my fridge - the rest of a jar of tomato sauce, some creamed spinach, red lentils. It is hearty, healthy, and inexpensive. Love it!
cegeiger
Germany
3/25/2020
Quite an underwhelming soup, it really does not taste like much. Maybe a bit more tomato paste or using chicken stock instead of water. Anyways, first recipe of many that I’ve done from BA that I didn’t like.
Marcus Amaral Leite
Brazil
3/9/2020
I definitely agree with the other reviewer that this makes anywhere from 6-8 servings, rather than 4. Which is great, you can easily make this with the best available ingredients for around $3/serving. I've tried this recipe a few times and to avoid the boring factor another reviewer mentioned, make sure you season the soffrito very well, do NOT skip the vinegar/pecorino (both essential) and I sometimes simmer with a few sprigs of thyme if I have it. This is a go-to cheap, healthy, tasty, and lasts-all-week meal for me.
Anonymous
Los Angeles
4/26/2019
Not to be a contrarian, but I found the taste to be less than "blah" and a lot of work for very little to serve up again. There are a lot of lentil recipes out there that are worth doing numerous times. This one, not so much.
Anonymous
Long Beach, CA
10/31/2018
This is a great Lentil Stew recipe. So much flavor from so few ingredients and almost no fat. It makes much more than four servings. (I'd say 8)
Anonymous
Ohio
10/16/2018