Sunday Baked Eggs

Nothing says Sunday more than a lazy day in with a pot of coffee and eggs ... unless your my fiancee where a Sunday consists of walking around, brunching, shopping, and doing any other activity to make someone tired. Luckily for me, I got my lazy Sunday this week as she was spending time with her sister. I put on some TV, made a pot of coffee, and searched through our threadbare cupboards to find something to make with eggs. 

I found some red lentils and whole wheat breadcrumbs, and thought I would use my new mini Le Creuset bake pan I bought last week by making baked eggs. I made sure to add a layer of breadcrumbs to avoid the eggs from falling between the beans. I was happy to see a nice crunchy crust develop underneath my eggs, separating with wet yolks from the hearty, spiced lentils. Try it your next lazy Sunday, and if lentils aren't you're thing, used some cooked spinach, some thick cut bacon, or whatever you have in your cupboards. Enjoy!

Ingredients (serves 1):

2 eggs

2 tbsp. whole wheat bread crumbs

2 tsp. olive oil

1/3 cup red lentils

1/2 cup vegetable stock

1 tsp. curry powder

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tbsp. parsley flakes

1 tsp. tarragon

1 slice of butter

sea salt & black pepper

1.  Heat a pan over a medium heat. Add the red lentils, 1 teaspoon of olive oil, curry powder, cumin, parsley, and butter. Mix thoroughly, oat the lentils and leave over heat for 2 minutes. Preheat your over to 375 degrees.

2. Add half of the vegetable stock and leave the lentils to cook. When the stock cooks off, add some more. The lentils should be nice and tender, and cook in about 10 minutes or so. Add any more stock needed to get the beans to cook through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. In a bowl, add your bread crumbs and the remaining teaspoon of olive oil. Mix together until you have a nice paste. Moist bread crumbs cook and taste much better than plain ones (that's why fried food taste so glorious as the breadcrumbs get slathered in grease!).

4. Remove the lentils from the pan, and drain most of the excess liquid. Reserve about a tablespoon's worth and add back to the lentils.

5. Add the lentils to your bake pan. Top with the breadcrumbs, making sure you spread them evenly over your beans. Crack two eggs over the bread crumbs and season with pepper and tarragon.

6. Put the pan in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Check the eggs periodically to ensure the yolks don't cook through. Remove from the stove and let sit for 1 minute on a trivet before serving.