Oeufs en meurette

This one's for CHM, as I believe that eggs in red wine sauce is one of his many favourite dishes. It's a French classic from Burgundy, but equally found in nice cafés in Paris. We had never had it before, so when I came across a recipe in a little French cookbook that came as a free gift from the supermarket I decided we should try it.

Here is my translation of the recipe:

It is rated as an economical entrée of moderate difficulty, serving 4 people and taking 15 minutes to prepare, 30 minutes to cook.

Ingredients:

4 slices of white bread
4 eggs
8 slices of streaky bacon
1 onion
2 shallots
Some chives
50g butter
500ml red wine
2 tbsp white vinegar

Method:

1. Bring the wine to a boil in a saucepan and reduce it by half.
2. Peel and finely chop the onion and shallots.
3. Add them to the saucepan, then reduce the wine by half again.
4. Whisk in the cold butter thoroughly.
5. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Strain and keep warm.
7. Grill the bacon and keep warm.
8. Bring a saucepan of water to a strong simmer and add the vinegar.
9. Poach the eggs.
10. Drain them on kitchen paper.
11. Put an egg on each slice of bread, share out the bacon and nap the dish generously with the sauce.
12. Sprinkle with a few snipped chives and serve.

I let the wine reduce a bit far which meant the sauce wasn't as generous or as smooth and glossy as it should have been. Personally, I felt that whilst it is an interesting dish and I am glad I've tried it, it was really rather a palaver for something that seems so simple. It's the sort of dish I probably won't make again (unless CHM is coming to supper and I want to make something to impress him).

Susan