It’s no secret that I love eggs for dinner, whether a “proper” meal like my quickest curried eggs, a poached egg to complete a bowl of soup, or an egg salad sammy to save us from take out. So, the first thing I thought of to make my meal of french lentils over wilted spinach heartier was, you guessed it, an egg.

This rustic salad comes together effortlessly. The greens are dressed in the simplest vinaigrette (I used olive oil, white wine vinegar, dijon, salt and pepper; a bit of finely chopped shallot would be nice, too). The lentils quick cooked and finished with creamy dijon. And the eggs fried in a flash. Layer one over the other—spinach, lentils, eggs—break the yolks, and take a big bite. Serve with crusty bread and wine (for mama and papa), and you’ll be transported to the French countryside. Perfection. In no time flat.

French Lentils
(can be served to children 8+ mos)

3 strips all-natural bacon, cut into 1/2″ pieces
1 organic onion, chopped
2 organic carrots, chopped
1 bulb organic fennel, chopped
5 cloves organic garlic, minced
1 tsp herbs de provence or chopped fresh organic thyme
1 c organic French green lentils
1/2 c white wine (optional; substitute 1/2 c of broth)
1 1/2 c organic chicken or vegetable broth
2 c water
1-2 tbsp dijon mustard

1. Fry bacon in a large dutch oven over medium high heat until crispy. Add onion, carrots and fennel; saute until translucent. (The bacon should render enough fat to saute the veggies. If not, add a drizzle of olive oil.) Add garlic and herbs. Saute another 2 minutes, until fragrant.

2. Add lentils; stir to coat. Add white wine. When wine has almost completely cooked off, add broth and water. (If you decided to skip white wine, add all of the broth and water, at once, as soon as lentils are well coated.) Cook until all liquid evaporates and lentils are soft, about 30 minutes. Take off heat and stir dijon to taste.