This recipe was originally published in the award-winning cookbook Tenderheart: A Cookbook About Vegetables and Unbreakable Family Bonds by Hetty Lui McKinnon (Knopf, 2023). Reprinted here with permission.
You can purchase Tenderheart here [1]
Ingredients:
- Extra -virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 celery stalks (about 3 ½ oz/100g), finely chopped
- 1 fennel bulb (about 12 oz/350g), finely chopped, fronds reserved
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 6 ⅓ cups (1.5 liters) vegetable stock
- ¼ cup (50g) Puy (French) lentils
- Sea salt and black pepper
- 2 ½ tablespoon white (shiro) miso
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup (60 ml) lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)
Charred Garlicky Fennel Fronds (Optional):
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 ½ ounces (100g) fennel fronds
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- Sea salt and black pepper
Method:
- Heat a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, along with the onion. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until softened, then reduce the heat to medium, add the celery, chopped fennel, garlic, thyme and oregano and cook for 2 minutes. Add the vegetable stock, lentils, 1 teaspoon of sea salt and season with black pepper. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, then check that the lentils are cooked; if not, cover again and cook for another 5-10 minutes over low heat, just until the lentils are tender.
- If you have enough fronds to make the charred garlicky fennel fronds, heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the fennel fronds and garlic and stir occasionally, letting the delicate leaves char. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 6-8 minutes, until most of the leaves are charred and crispy. Season with sea salt and black pepper.
- When the lentils are tender, add the miso to the soup and stir well to combine. Taste and season with sea salt and black pepper.
- Add the eggs to a spouted measuring cup or bowl. Whisk until the egg is frothy and slightly lighter in color, about 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice and whisk to combine well. Slowly add 3 tablespoons of the hot soup into the egg-lemon mixture, whisking constantly, to temper the egg (this will increase the temperature of the egg slightly and reduce the risk of curdling at the next step). Very carefully add the egg mixture to the soup, whisking vigorously and constantly, until completely combined. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring constantly, until the soup is thick enough to lightly coat a spoon, about 5 minutes; do not let the soup reach a simmer.
- To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and top with the charred garlicky fennel fronds (if using) and a generous drizzle of olive oil.
Serving suggestion: Top with crumbled feta.