Eggsinmeurette Recipes

OEUFS EN MEURETTE

Steps:

• For the sauce, put the wine and stock in a large saucepan and bring to a vigorous boil. Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, bouquet garni and peppercorns and boil until reduced by half (15-20 minutes). Strain the wine, pressing the vegetables to extract all the liquid, then set aside.
• While the wine is reducing, melt a quarter of the butter in a saucepan, add the bacon and fry until crisp. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Sauté the mushrooms in with another quarter of the butter until tender (2-3 minutes). Remove and put with the bacon. In the same pan, gently sauté the onions for 10-15 minutes until crisp and tender, shaking the pan often so they colour evenly. Drain off the fat, return the mushrooms and bacon to the pan and set aside.
• Make the croûtes: using a round or oval cutter, cut the bread into 4 shapes just larger than a poached egg. Heat 5 mm/1⁄4in of oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the bread croûtes in batches until brown on both sides (1-2 minutes per side). Drain on kitchen paper and set aside.
• To thicken the sauce, crush the remaining 15g/1⁄2oz butter on a plate with a fork and work in the flour to form a soft paste - French cooks call this beurre manié. Bring the wine mixture to a boil and whisk in the kneaded butter a piece at a time, until the sauce becomes thick enough to lightly coat the back of a spoon (you may not need all the kneaded butter). Strain the sauce into the pan with the bacon, mushrooms and onions. Bring to a boil, taste and adjust seasoning, adding a piece of chocolate if you like.
• To finish the dish, reheat the sauce on the stove, and warm the croûtes in the oven. Bring the vinegar and 1.2 litres/2 pints of water to the boil in a large shallow pan. Break the eggs, one at a time, into the places where the liquid is bubbling, so the bubbles spin the eggs. Lower the heat and poach the eggs for 3-4 minutes, until the yolks are fairly firm but still soft to the touch. Using a slotted spoon, remove the eggs and drain on kitchen paper. Trim off the stringy edges with scissors. Place the croûtes on warm serving plates, set an egg on each croûte and spoon over the sauce.

OEUFS EN MEURETTE

Steps:

• Pour 1 1/2 ounces of clarified butter into a pan and heat until smoking, about 400 degrees. Add the shallots and stir briskly. Add the bacon and brown lightly. To this mixture, add the crushed garlic cloves. Stir in the flour and cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Add all of the Burgundy and whisk in off the heat. Add the bouillon and stir thoroughly. Now add the lump of sugar, for luck. Pop in the bouquet garni, salt and pepper and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. After 1 hour add the red wine vinegar. At the end of 1 1/2 hours, add 1-ounce fresh butter to the sauce.
• Pass the sauce through a sieve and scrape every last drop of it through. Return to a clean pan and allow to cook gently. In a skilled cook the garlic in a little clarified butter to release the natural juices. Drop the rounds of bread into the garlic butter and add a little more clarified butter, if necessary. Fry until crisp and golden brown. Prick the wide end of the eggs with an egg pricker or needle and lower them into a pan of boiling water with a wire basket. Count 10 seconds and remove the eggs and break them into a cup. Take the water off the boil and add a pinch of salt and the eggs. Raise the heat and gently poach the eggs. Meanwhile remove the fried bread rounds from their pan and place in heated serving dishes or small bowls.
• With a slotted spoon remove eggs from water and place each on a piece of garlic bread. Pour the sauce around the egg, leaving some white showing. Garnish with parsley. Recommended drink: A good dry red wine.

EGGS EN MEURETTE

Steps:

• Fill a medium-sized bowl with cold water.
• Bring the stock and wine to a boil in a thick saucepan, then add the red-wine vinegar. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Crack the eggs one by one into a bowl, and slide into the bubbling pan. Poach for 3-4 minutes, until the whites are just set and the yolks are still soft. Remove to the bowl of water and place in the refrigerator.
• Add the shallots and thyme and reduce until the sauce is concentrated, about 25 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and strain.
• Meanwhile, if using the optional ingredients, heat a sauté pan over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Add the bacon and flip after 3 minutes. Cook for 2 more minutes, then drain on a paper towel. To the rendered fat, add the mushrooms and cook over medium-high heat until lightly browned, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• Add the olive oil to the pan and place over high heat. Sauté the fingerling potatoes until browned, about 4 minutes, and reduce the heat to medium. Continue cooking until fork tender, stirring occasionally, about 8 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• When ready to serve, heat water in a sauté pan over medium heat and slide in the poached eggs for 1 minute to reheat. Plate the fingerlings, top with the poached eggs, and finish with the sauce, bacon, and mushrooms. Garnish with the chopped chives.