Poached Eggs in Red Wine Sauce

By corlear

Oeufs en Meurette

The red wine sauce in this recipe can be adapted for a variety of meat or fish dishes. Prepare the sauce the day before and re-heat it while you are poaching the eggs.

Ingredients

• For the Sauce:
• 8 small, thin slices of pain de campagne or baguette
• 2 garlic cloves, halved
• 55 g / 2 oz butter
• 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 8 egg2
• small bunch of fresh chives, finely chopped
• 100 g / 3 1/2 oz streaky bacon or lardons
• 4 shallots, very finely chopped
• 55 g / 2oz butter
• 1 1/2 tbsp plain flour
• 750 ml / 27 fl oz red Burgundy wine
• 1 bouquet garni
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

To make the sauce, put the bacon in a saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Remove the bacon immediately, pat dry with paper towels and dice finely.

In a large saucepan, sauté the bacon and the shallots in the butter over a medium heat. When the shallots are translucent, stir in the flour and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Take the saucepan off the heat and pour in the red wine, whisking well. Return to the heat, add the bouquet garni and simmer, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Preheat the oven to 120°C/250°F/gas mark 1/2.

Put 4 soup plates to warm. Rub the bread with the garlic cloves, then fry it in the butter until golden on both sides. Place 2 slices of bread in each of the soup plates.

Fill a large, shallow pan with water, almost to the top. Add the vinegar. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer. Crack the eggs gently into the pan, one by one. Try to keep track of the eggs you have put in first so you can take them out in the same order. Poach each egg for 3-4 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, carefully transfer the eggs to a plate covered with paper towels to drain and trim the straggly ends off the whites. Place an egg on each slice of bread and pour the sauce around the eggs. Sprinkle the eggs with chives and serve immediately.