Veggie-packed smoky lentils with jammy eggs

I don’t often post vegetarian recipes because stats don’t lie and what mine show me is that my readers adore meat recipes – the redder the better! As existing on lamb chops, boerewors and steak is not the cleverest lifestyle choice, I’m for once making a meatless Monday exception. I pack lentils with plenty of good-for-you veggies and I give it a prominent smoky note that makes it somehow feel more substantial than a ‘vegetarian’ dish. And for protein? Perfectly boiled soft jammy eggs of course.

All you need is…

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 plump cloves garlic, finely sliced
1 red pepper, finely sliced
1 yellow pepper, finely sliced or diced
1 red chilli, finely sliced
third of a teaspoon salt
½ tsp sugar
1½ Tbsp smoked paprika
1 x 400g tin of lentils, rinsed and drained in a colander
2 cups baby spinach
8 sprigs coriander, roughly chopped
4 extra large free range eggs, at room temperature

Add the olive oil to a large non-stick pan along with the onions, garlic, peppers, chilli, salt and sugar. Fry over medium-low heat until vegetables are soft. Add the smoked paprika and fry for a further two minutes. Add the lentils, spinach and coriander to the veggies and stir well to combine. Taste and see if it needs a bit more salt. Place lid on and remove from the heat at this point – the residual heat will be sufficient to wilt the spinach and coriander and keep the lentils warm.

To make the jammy eggs, gently lower the eggs into a saucepan of boiling water. Boil for 6 and a half minutes. Lift eggs out with a spoon and dunk them into ice water. Once they’re cool enough to handle, gently roll them on a wooden board to crack the shell and peel them. Now here’s a hot tip: Gently squeeze the peeled eggs. If they feel incredibly soft, simply pop them back (sans shells) in the boiling water for another 30 seconds or so. It works a charm to get your jammy eggs just-so! Top lentils with jammy eggs and garnish with a few sprigs of coriander or some micro herbs.