Lentil cream garnished with a poached egg flavoured with truffle oil

Preparation time: 45 min

Preheat your four at 400 °F

• General preparation

  Mince the carrots and onions. Chop the garlic. Chop the chives. Rinse the lentils.

• Lentil cream preparation

  In a sauce pot, drizzle some olive oil and sweat the carrots and onions for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the lentils, garlic, thyme and vegetable stock and stir. Turn down the heat and cook for roughly 40 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Add the cream, bring to a boil and adjust seasoning.  Using a hand blender, mix everything in order to obtain a smooth soup.

• Poached eggs preparation

  Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the vinegar, then reduce the intensity of the heat to a simmer. Using a wooden spoon create a small whirlpool in the pot and add the eggs one by one. Cook for 3 minutes, then drain well and set aside on absorbent paper.

• Pumpkin crumble

  In a hot skillet, cook the bacon for 2-3 minutes then add the pumpkin seeds. Set aside on an absorbent paper. Reheat the skillet again with a little oil and sweat the onions, shallots and mushrooms, then season to taste. Set aside again. Using the same skillet, add a nob of butter and cook down your cubes of baguette until you get a nice golden color.

  Next, combine all of the ingredients back into the skillet and add the chives and green onions.

  Transfer to a backing sheet and place it in the oven at 167°F (75°C) to dehydrate it for 2 hours.

  Let the baking sheet cool down and once cooled, transfer to a food processor and make a crumble to your desired consistency. Ideally, you want to have a nice crunch or bite in the end result.

• To serve

  Pour the cream of lentils into bowls and add a poached egg in each bowl. Drizzle with a few drops of truffle oil. Garnish with some chopped chives. Serve hot.