Poached Eggs in Red Wine Sauce

I'm not sure this dish was intended as a breakfast dish, but at our house, why not.

As mentioned below, I used a Malbec for the sauce.  Specifically Rex Goliath 47 lb Rooster Malbec.  We just discovered this crazy reasonable red (Malbec is new to Rex) and really enjoyed the deep, berry flavors. This wine really holds up well and worked very well in the sauce.

This recipe kept me sticking pretty close the original.  The usual coconut oil and almond flour were the substitutions.  I did cut back on the amount of oil.  They had me using it to fry bacon.  Seriously? Who cooks greasy bacon in oil?  Unnecessary. Done.  The other change was not one of choice but rather availability.  Apparently in my area the frozen pearl onion is a rare as a big foot sighting.

In any event, the dish was fabulous!  I love being able to use fresh herbs from the garden.  The wine sauce itself has this great depth and is almost addicting. (My husband and I were trying to find other things we could put it on.)  The separately cooked  eggs, veggies and bacon were so flavorful and I liked being able to distinguish each individual flavor.  It made each bite was a real treat.

Bacon, sauce in a pan and the onions and mushrooms.

Poached Eggs in Red Wine Sauce
One 750-milliliter bottle Pinot Noir (told ya there would be more wine!)  I used a Malbec as that is what I had on hand.

1 small onion, thinly sliced

1 medium carrot, thinly sliced

3 thyme sprigs

1 parsley sprig

1 bay leaf

1 garlic clove

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened coconut oil

1 tablespoon all-purpose almond flour

Kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper

1/2 pound white mushrooms, quartered

2 thick slices of bacon, cut crosswise 1/2 inch thick

3/4 cup frozen pearl onions (4 ounces), thawed and patted dry (I opted for Florida Sweet onion chopped into large chunks due to two factors:  Availability of the FL onion and lack of availability of the pearl)*

8 large eggs

Four 1/2-inch-thick slices of rustic country bread, halved crosswise and toasted  Quinoa or Gluten Free Toast

Chervil sprigs or chopped parsley, for garnish

In a medium saucepan, combine the wine with the onion, carrot, thyme, parsley, bay leaf and garlic and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderately high heat until reduced by half, 12 to 15 minutes. Strain the wine through a fine sieve and return it to the saucepan; discard the vegetables and herbs.

In a small bowl, blend 2 tablespoons of the coconut oil with the flour to form a paste. Bring the wine sauce to a boil and whisk in the flour paste. Simmer over moderate heat, whisking, until thickened, 2 minutes. Season the sauce with salt and pepper and keep warm.

In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of the coconut oil. Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until tender and browned, about 7 minutes; transfer to a large plate. In the same skillet, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. Add the bacon and cook over moderately high heat, turning once, until browned but not crisp, about 3 minutes; transfer to the plate.(I eliminated the oil here since we are cooking bacon.  Lets not go crazy with the oil, people)  Add the pearl onions to the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until tender and golden, about 5 minutes; transfer to the plate. Keep warm.

Bring a large, deep skillet of water to a simmer over moderate heat. Crack the eggs into a small bowl, one at a time, and carefully slide into the simmering water. Poach the eggs over moderate heat until the whites are set but the yolks are still slightly runny, about 4 minutes. Transfer the poached eggs to paper towels to drain.

We placed a serving of warm quiona on plates, set the eggs on top and spoon the red wine sauce over the eggs. Scatter the mushrooms, bacon and pearl onions around the plate, garnish with chervil sprigs and serve right away.  Next round I'm trying this dish on Sami's Gluten Free Flax & Millet bread.

Clearly I need to work on my food styling but I'm trying!

MAKE AHEAD: The red wine sauce can be refrigerated overnight. Reheat gently, adding a few tablespoons of water if it's too thick.
 *(Side note.  Always check your freezer to see if your husband graciously went out and bought the pearl onions you couldn't find.  Nothing like finding the bag days after I finished the recipe trial)