Florentine baked eggs with dark lentils, harissa and tortillas
Vegetarian mains
Florentine baked eggs with dark lentils, harissa and tortillas
Florentine as a prefix on a menu, will almost certainly denote the presence of spinach in some form. It is a classic combination with eggs. By adding the lentils and tomatoes. you can turn it into a more substantial meal.
Cook's notes
By blanching, cooling and squeezing the spinach before baking, we help to keep the bright green colour. It also stops the spinach releasing water as it cooks and diluting the final dish. If chilli isn't your thing you can add less harissa to fit your taste.
Ingredients
- 2 red onions
- oil for frying, e.g. sunflower or light olive
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp harissa
- 400g baby spinach
- 1 tin dark lentils
- ½ pot double cream
- 4 eggs
- 25g Italian style cheese
- 1 nutmeg
- 1 pack wholemeal tortillas
- salt and pepper
Method
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Step 1
Get yourself set up by putting a large pan of salted water on to boil for the spinach. Peel and slice the red onions. Fry them in 1 tablespoon of oil in another saucepan for 5 minutes until starting to soften.
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Step 2
While the onions cook, peel and finely chop or crush the garlic clove. Add the garlic, chopped tomatoes and harissa to the onions. Lower the heat and cook gently for 10 minutes.
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Step 3
Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6. Meanwhile, wash the spinach. Blanch the spinach in the boiling water for 30 seconds, or until wilted. Drain, return to the pan and cover in cold water to allow it to cool immediately.
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Step 4
Drain and rinse the tinned lentils. Add them to the onions along with the cream. Stir to combine and gently warm. Season with salt and pepper. Drain the cooled spinach and squeeze out as much water as you can with your hands. Spread the spinach on a chopping board and chop it roughly. Add it to the pan of lentils. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
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Step 5
Spread the lentil mix into the casserole or roasting tin. Make 4 equally spaced indentations in the surface and crack an egg into each one. Cover with the Italian cheese and a grate over a light dusting of nutmeg.
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Step 6
Bake for about 8-10 minutes or until the whites have set but the yolks remain just runny. The timings may vary depending on your oven so check at regular intervals. Remove from the oven and spread the tortillas onto the oven shelf to warm up for 1 minute.
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Step 7
Divide onto 2 plates. Try and keep the eggs intact as you do so. Finish with a few grinds of pepper. Remove the warm tortillas from the oven, serve alongside the baked eggs to mop up all runny egg yolks and leftovers.
