Ouefs en Meurette
Ouefs en meurette is a classic French dish of the Burgundy region of France. It consists of poached eggs served with garlic toast and a hearty red wine sauced known as a meurette. It's typically served as an appetizer in a restaurant but also makes for a good light lunch.
Burgundy is one of the main wine producing regions of the country, along with Bordeaux and Champagne so not surprisingly, many of the classic dishes of the area use wine in their cooking - beef Bourgogne and Coq au Vin to name only a few.
The wines that that region produces tend to be fruity flavored pinot noir's and dry chardonnay's, so to keep things classic I would recommend using a pinot noir when making this dish (but really, any red wine will do for my recipe).
I should Note that this recipe is probably a little different than what you would get at a restaurant in France and that this is just my interpretation of the dish. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy.
Ingredients
Note: These ingredients are approximations. For me it served two people (one egg each) but there was quite a bit of sauce left over and could easily serve two more. Adjust as you wish.
Muerette Sauce
• 1.5 cups red wine
• 1 cup beef stock
• 2 Eggs
• Lardons (or bacon)
• 2 carrots
• 2 celery stalks
• 1 onion
• Herbs (thyme, parsley, bay leaf)
• Salt and pepper
Accompaniments
• 2-4 Mushrooms
• 2 Small Carrots
• 6-8 Radishes (optional)
• 2 shallots
• A few peas (optional)
• Crusty bread
• Garlic
Directions
Start by thinly chopping the celery, carrots and onions and putting them into a pot along with the wine, beef stock, herbs, and salt and pepper.
Bring the liquid to a boil and then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 40 minutes to an hour.
While you're waiting, cook the lardons (bacon) in a separate pan and set aside when finished. I started cooking the mushrooms with the bacon but later moved them to my roasting pan.
Note: I like to mess around with presentation and usually try to make things look pretty, so I cooked the vegetables separately from the sauce and place them in the sauce after it was done. I added celery to the dish as well but I don't recommend it. The texture of the roasted celery was too chewy and stringy.
Cut 2 small carrots and 2 shallots in half and place them on a baking sheet along with the radishes and mushrooms and roast them until cooked. I cooked them at a medium-high temperature for about 40 minutes.
Near the end of the cooking time, make two poached eggs.
Bring water to a very light boil and then reduce until barely bubbling. Add vinegar to the water and swirl and gently drop your eggs in it. You want the eggs to be cooked on the outside but runny on the inside, so cook for 3 minutes and 20 seconds then set them aside on paper towel to dry.
Note: Some people poach the eggs in the sauce itself but this turns the eggs red which is less appealing (in my opinion) and also adds an additional challenge/risk in that the eggs could break in the sauce which might ruin it. Or the sauce may it not be deep enough in the pan to poach the eggs. For those reasons I think it's easier and better to just poach them separately.
You also need to make your garlic toast at some point by cutting your crusty bread and rubbing garlic on it. Pop it in the oven to toast, checking periodically to make sure that it's not burning.
After 40 minutes to an hour, drain the vegetables from the sauce and set it aside. To thicken the sauce, melt butter and add some flower to it and mix until smooth. Then add the sauce to the butter flour combination and bring it back to a light boil in order to reduce and thicken.
When the sauce is thickened and the vegetables are cooked, assemble the dish how you wish. I served the eggs on top of the toast with the vegetables around.
Thats it. Enjoy!
