Curried Lentils with Poached Eggs

Last week a colleague was raving to me about a breakfast she’d just had at The Breslin. “It’s right up your alley,” she said, “Curried lentils with poached eggs, and crispy garlic. Such a Sophie meal.” Of course I instantly looked up the menu and was immediately inspired by the thought: lentils for breakfast. One of my favorite beans, high fiber, and something to help kick the monotony of eggs-avocado-toast I’ve been pretty stuck in for over a year. I found a recipe inspired by this same dish on Saveur, and while their methodology was a bit too complex for me for a weekday meal, I was able to leverage the spice combination they used and come up with a quicker version of what has turned out to be a very warm, comforting, and hearty bowl, guaranteed to warm up your winter morning (and make you feel like you’re at a very fancy hotel restaurant in downtown Manhattan.

Curried Lentils with Poached Eggs (makes 5 servings, inspired by Saveur)

• For the lentils

  • 1 T olive oil

  • 1 large (or 2 medium) carrots, diced small

  • 1 large (or 2 medium) celery stalks, diced small

  • 1 small onion, diced small

  • 2 T tomato paste

  • 1.5 t curry powder

  • 1/2 t ground coriander

  • 1/4 t cinnamon

  • 1/4 t nutmeg

  • 1/2 t cardamom

  • Salt and pepper

  • 2 cans lentils (I like BioItalia, which I found in Whole Foods)

  • Salt and pepper

• To serve

  • 1 bag baby spinach

  • 10 eggs (2 per serving)

On Sunday I prepared the lentils, which took about 15 minutes:

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan or skillet. Add the carrots, celery and onions and cook until all vegetables are soft and carrots are cooked through (I put a lid on for part of the time, to keep them from drying out too much).

Once soft, add the tomato paste and spices. Cook for 2 minutes.

Add the lentils and saute just until the ingredients are well combined. (The lentils are already cooked, so you don’t need to worry about cooking them, but you do need to worry about overcooking them and making them mushy. So just toss to combine with the spices, season with salt and pepper to taste, and remove from the heat.) Store in tupperware.

To serve each morning:

Fill a shallow pan with water and bring to a boil. Crack 2 eggs into individual ramekins.

While the water is coming to a boil, spray a small nonstick pan with some cooking spray and add 1 cup of the lentil mixture and a handful of baby spinach. Cook over medium heat until the lentils are warm and the spinach is wilted, then put onto your serving plate.

When the water has boiled, turn down the heat to a simmer. Carefully drop the eggs one at a time into the water, and set the timer for 3 minutes. When the timer goes, gently remove one at a time with a slotted spoon, dab with a paper towel to remove excess water, and place atop your lentils.

Season with some flakey salt, and enjoy.