Poached Eggs in White Wine Sauce

By corlear

Oeufs au Vin de Meursault

Burgundy is famous for poached eggs en meurette, in a red wine sauce, but Monique Boisseaux prefers this lighter version made with the white wine from her vineyards. A bottle of Chardonnay wine is a less expensive alternative to Burgundian Meursault, but quite acceptable.

Ingredients

• 2 cups chicken or white veal stock
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 shallots, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 cups full-bodied white wine
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• salt
• pepper
• bouquet garni
• 1/2 pound slab bacon, cut into lardons
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• 8 large eggs
• 12 or 24 triangular croûtes, fried in oil and butter
• 2 tbsp crème fraîche or heavy cream

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

Bring the stock to a boil. Melt half the butter in a saucepan and add the shallots. Sauté over medium heat until golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook until foaming. Whisk in the boiling stock, the wine, garlic, and a little salt and pepper; add the bouquet garni. Bring the sauce to a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens enough to coat a spoon, 3/4 to 1 hour. Strain and set aside.

Melt the remaining butter in a frying pan. Add the mushrooms with salt and pepper. Toss them in the butter over medium-high heat until they lose all their moisture, about 5 minutes, then remove.

Render the bacon in the pan over low heat, then cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Drain it on paper towels.

Fill a large shallow pan two-thirds full of water, add the vinegar, and bring to a boil. Break 4 eggs, one at a time, into a patch of bubbling water. Regulate the heat so the water barely simmers and poach the eggs until the white sets but the yolk is still soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon to a pan of cold water to stop the cooking, then drain them. Poach the remaining eggs.

(The sauce, garnish, and eggs can be cooked up to 2 hours ahead and kept at room temperature. Rub the surface of the sauce with butter to prevent a skin forming.)

To finish, wrap the croütes in aluminum foil and reheat them in a low oven if necessary.

Reheat the sauce, stir in the mushrooms, bacon, and crème fraîche or cream, and taste for seasoning. Transfer the eggs to a bowl of very hot water. Leave 2 or 3 minutes to warm, then drain on paper towels and trim off any strings of white.

To serve, put the eggs on warmed plates and spoon the sauce over them. Add the croûtes as a final decoration.