Lentil Bean Soup

Threats of a harsh, powerless winter have left you with a dozen cans of beans, stale bread, and a half-eaten wheel of cheese. Use-it-all chef Tony Maws of Craigie on Main on how to turn your pantry excess into gourmet deliciousness.  

TONY MAWS’S LENTIL BEAN SOUP

1 bag lentils
1 small onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 tbsp. grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
2 slices cured ham
2 cups chicken broth
Kosher salt
Black pepper
2 pieces pork sausage
1/4 bottle old red wine
1 can garbanzo beans
1 can black beans
1/2 bag frozen soy beans (edamame)
3 tbsp. olive oil
4 eggs
Whatever cheese heels are in the fridge
Hot sauce
Slightly stale bread, sliced

1. In medium saucepan or soup pot, bring lentils and 4 cups water to a boil and pour off liquid.
2. Add onions, carrot, ginger, garlic, bay leaf, ham, and chicken broth.
3. Add water to cover solids by 2 inches, and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat.
4. Reduce heat to low, season with salt and pepper, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, in medium skillet, sear sausage until cooked through, reserving skillet.
6. Cut sausage into bite-size pieces and add to pot along with wine and beans.
7. Cook until lentils are soft, about 10 minutes more minutes. Stir in olive oil.
8. Just before serving, in same skillet used for sausage, cook eggs over easy.
9. To serve, place slices of bread in the bottom of four bowls. Fill with soup, grate heel of cheese over each serving, and slide eggs on top. Season with hot sauce.