braised Italian lentils & eggs with pesto

Last Saturday Nick and I made dinner together (a rare occurrence indeed, but on the the ‘to-do more regularly’ list) delicious braised lentils with fish and salsa verde. It was so good I immediately became re-addicted to lentils, so much so that I made up this recipe as a way of being able to enjoy them any time of day – for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The lentils are beautifully earthy and flavourful and I could eat mounds of them just on their own (hot or cold!), but if you fancy, top them with an egg which provides a protein-rich contrast, and pop pungent, garlicky pesto on top…..phwoar, unbelievably good!!! To go even one step further feel free to serve them with grilled Italian sausages or pan fried mushrooms – and do let me know if you give them a whirl!

2-4 eggs, fried or poached to your liking

In a large, deep frying pan heat olive oil and cook pancetta over a medium heat for 4-5 minutes until crispy and releasing it’s fat. Add onion, celery, carrot and zucchini with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook 15 minutes over a gentle heat until the vegetables are softened. Add garlic and chilli with lentils and cook 2 minutes, then out aside. Poach or fry 2-4 eggs (depending on how eggy you want to get), give the lentils a final blat to heat through, stir through parsley and serve topped with basil, eggs and pesto, sea salt and a good grinding of black pepper. Serves 2, but can easily be multiplied to serve more.