Poached Eggs in White Wine
Eggs poached in white wine peppered with minced shallots and herbs. A simple twist that immediately transformed the humble poached egg into something just a hint special and unexpected. Served over smashed avocado on toasted bread.
I find myself poaching eggs two or three times a week. And, I know it seems obvious, but I sometimes need a nudge to poach them in something other than water. All sorts of broths and infusions are fair game, it's funny that I don't branch out more often. These, for example, were eggs poached in white wine accented with minced shallots and herbs. A simple twist that immediately transformed the humble poached egg into something just a hint special and unexpected. The nudge came from a tiny cookery volume titled The Flavors of France Volume II, published by Hastings House in 1964. Often, before I leave on a trip, I find myself cooking from cookbooks related to my pending destination, and I picked up this little gem in a thrift store in Napa, California years ago. It charmingly juxtaposes French regional architectural photos with regional recipes. This was a twist on an Oeufs Poches au Vin Rouge recipe, that I tweaked to my liking - using white wine, simplifying the instructions, and serving it open-faced on toasted bread.
Depending on the size of your pan, it's a shallow poach. You use the remaining poaching liquid to fashion a quick sauce after the eggs have set.
Making my way back from France - in the meantime, I'm imagining you might enjoy these not just on bread, but also, on top of a fall root vegetable gratin, or a chunky potato stew, or alongside a robust kale salad.....xo -h
Give this a try! Other favorite egg recipes include: deviled eggs, egg salad sandwich, this frittata, and pickled turmeric eggs.
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Poached Eggs in White Wine
Use a white wine here that you wouldn't mind drinking the remainder of.
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup water
2 shallots, minced
1 bay leaf
a pinch of thyme
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
2-4 large eggs1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons flourto serve: toasted bread, avocado, chives
In a large skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat combine the wine, water, shallots, bay leaf, thyme, and salt. Boil for five minutes. Dial back the heat a bit, before carefully cracking eggs into the skillet (you can crack each egg into a separate small bowl, and then transfer, if you're not comfortable going direct to the skillet). Cover and simmer for another five minutes or so - until the eggs whites are opaque, and the yolks are set to your liking. Once poached, remove the eggs with a slotted spoon from the skillet and set aside. Cook the liquid in the pan down a bit more, until you have about 1/2 cup of liquid left, then strain the liquid into a small saucepan. Whisk the butter and flour into a paste, then add this to the strained sauce, stirring until smooth, taste and add a bit of salt if needed.
Serve each egg on a piece of toast over a bit of smashed avocado, drizzled with a bit of sauce, and sprinkled with chives.
Serves 2-4.
Prep time: 5 minutes
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Hi Heidi -quick clarification on the instructions? Do you actually crack the egg into the skillet, or do you first crack them into a bowl and then slip them into the skillet (your pix indicate the latter)? I've found with poaching that I have more control if I first crack the eggs into a bowl and then pour them into the water. But that's me - my poaching skills leave a lot to be desired! The eggs and avocado look wonderful.
HS: Either way J - in fact, I sometimes crack them into little bowls, and then into the pan, other times - straight in.
My kind of breakkie! Thinking of wine as water has endless possibilities. I really enjoy cooking pasta in wine, with just enough to disappear altogether when the pasta finishes cooking.
Hi Heidi -quick clarification on the instructions? Do you actually crack the egg into the skillet, or do you first crack them into a bowl and then slip them into the skillet (your pix indicate the latter)? I've found with poaching that I have more control if I first crack the eggs into a bowl and then pour them into the water. But that's me - my poaching skills leave a lot to be desired! The eggs and avocado look wonderful.
beautiful picture. so simple and delicious sounding....
I love eggs so much, I could eat them off an old army boot. So there's no question I would enjoy your eggs poached in wine.
Love me some poached eggs! In fact, I can eat them any time of the day. Going to have to branch out and try something other than the usual water and white vinegar poaching liquid! Lovely poached eggs you have here! Bon appetite! CCR =:-)
I love eggs and I am looking forward to making this. Seems like so many of your recipes recently I have just LOVED: Turmeric tea, Miso sesame winter squash, Roasted Squash, chile and mozzarella salad - just great and surprisingly good flavor combinations. Plus, I just love fall and all it's vegetables. We also love TLTs, and Orange glazed tempeh: they have become a part of our dinner repertoire. Thank you, Heidi!
I've been regularly enjoying a fried egg on top of a heap of carmelized onions and winter root vegetables for the past few weeks. Maybe it's time to switch things up and give poaching a go.
As a farm boy, I grew up eating poached eggs, not only for breakfast. They were always "fun", delicious, and fresh. Admittedly, none as lovely looking as in your post, however! Beautifully done.
Strangely enough I have seen eggs poached in red wine but never in white wine. The avocados underneath are the figurative "cherry on top" though (even though they are on the bottom).
I think you have us all asking why we have been holding back our poached egg possibilities for so long. The options are endless, and I love your white wine and shallot twist. Hoping to go to France soon myself--I think I need a big plate of these while I trip plan!
Okay, you had me a poached egg, another dish that I want to learn to tackle. This sounds amazing, and I am very interesting in continuing to learn more about your travels. I wish I could travel and learn more about food around the world. This recipe sounds delicious and I would have never really thought about trying to do this in anything but water. Great call :)
what a great idea! I never thought to do this with poached eggs!
i JUST had this dish in the burgundy region of france last month... and i was wondering how to make it! thank you so much for this... i can't wait to try it out!
Poached eggs are my favorite, and I've never tried doing it in wine! Sounds absolutely delicious, especially with that avocado toast.
I love poached eggs so much, and this recipe looks fabulous! Lovely idea!
You have a way of making the simplest foods look stunning and elegant, Heidi! Gorgeous eggs!
I am so intrigued by this recipe. That egg would look so good on a simple oil dressed pasta dish. I hope you are getting plenty of R&R in between your travels. Stunning photos!
Oh, my! These look absolutely too delicious for words. You just made me more hungry than I already am! And if I wasn't on my way to the gym in like 15 mins I wouldn't mind drinking the wine either ;-) Saving this idea for tonight...
I love eggs and avocado on toast. These look heavenly. Do you find that they taste quite rich when they are poached in wine?
HS: Hi Skye, I wouldn't say they taste rich - they're interesting, vibrant, unexpected, not heavy or overly decadent...
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