Eggs Baked in Red Wine

For a cozy, classic French dinner by the fireplace, and something a bit different, try Sara Moulton’s Eggs Baked in Red Wine. We recommend using our Helix Merlot for both sauce and drinking!

​On the side, try lightly steamed asparagus tossed with a little butter.

Pair with our Helix Merlot

Ingredients

• 2 slices homemade-style white bread
• 2 garlic cloves, one halved and one minced
• 3 strips bacon
• 1 shallots minced
• ¾ c dry red wine
• ¾ c chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• ½ Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 4 large eggs
• 1 Tbsp.  chopped fresh herbs, such as chives, parsley, tarragon, lemon thyme

​Directions

1. Toast each slice of bread and rub with the halved clove of garlic while warm.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until browned and crisp. Drain on paper towels. Crumble when cooled and set aside. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat from the skillet and add the minced garlic and the shallots. Cook over low heat, stirring often, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes.
   
3. Pour in the wine and increase the heat to high. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring to scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet, until reduced to 1/2 cup. Pour in the chicken stock and bring back to a boil.
4. In a small heatproof bowl, use a fork to blend the butter and flour into a smooth paste. Whisk about 1/4 cup of the boiling wine/stock liquid into the heatproof bowl and blend until smooth. Pour the bowl’s contents back into the skillet and boil, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
   
5. Arrange 2 bread triangles in the bottom of 4 individual 1-cup casserole dishes or ramekins. Pour ½ of the red wine sauce over the bread and carefully break 2 eggs on top; repeat for second serving. Arrange the dishes on a sheet pan and bake in the middle of the oven until the eggs are just set, 18 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh herbs and the crumbled bacon. Serve hot.

Cook’s Notes
This recipe involve creating is beurre manie. Beurre manie literally translated is “kneaded butter.” It is a quick alternative to a roux. You take softened butter and flour and knead it together until it is combined well and then you can just drop pieces of it, bit by bit, into a simmering liquid, whisking, until you have reached the consistency you are looking for. I usually whisk a little of the hot liquid into the beurre manie in a bowl first and then add that mixture back to the simmering liquid. I think the beurre manie is incorporated more easily that way.