Annette Tomei innovated this recipe for us as a Californian twist on a French technique for red wine poached eggs. The resulting poached eggs on black bean cakes with a delicate artichoke salad is a sumptuous layering of flavors and textures. It’s a dish that works for brunch or a romantic dinner for two.

Just to clarify, this is not a poached egg dish with a red wine sauce. Many recipes offer wine-based sauces to serve over poached eggs in lieu of the hollandaise that makes a traditional eggs benedict.

But for this recipe, you’re going to actually poach the eggs in the wine. It’s a technique called eggs en meurette or oeufs en meurette. And it’s surprising, it’s delicious and it makes everyone say, “wow” the first time they try it.

The best part is that once you master the poaching technique, you can use red wine poaching any time you’re craving eggs, for a Salad Lyonnaise or even just eggs and toast.

How to make eggs poached in red wine (oeufs en meurette)

To poach eggs in red wine, you just follow a basic poaching technique, only use a red wine as the poaching liquid instead of water. (Annette recommends using an affordable yet drinkable dry red wine. Look for something like an inexpensive Shiraz, Malbec or perhaps a red wine blend. Something in the $7-$10 range should work.)

Follow the instructions just as Annette describes them below. Two pieces of equipment that make poaching eggs a little easier are a slotted spoon to remove the eggs from the poaching liquid and a paper towel for them to rest on once they’re removed from the pan. (If you place the paper towel atop a warmed plate or shallow bowl, the warmth will help prevent the eggs from cooling too quickly.)

If you’ve never poached eggs before, you might want to practice a few times with water seasoned with a touch of vinegar before you move on to egg meurette.

Serve the poached eggs with a glass of red wine

Comments Annette, “This recipe has several components but each step is fast and easy.

Poaching the eggs in red wine, (which is a classic cooking technique from the Burgundy region of France), brings a unique, tangy flavor and is sure to wow any wine lover. Serve this French poached eggs dish with a glass of Pinot Noir, (the traditional red wine of Burgundy), for an unforgettable brunch, lunch or even dinner.”

Prep that can be done in advance

You obviously have to poach eggs at the last minute but to save yourself some stress, you can make the other components of this dish in advance.

The artichoke salad takes a bit of prep. Working with little artichokes can be frustrating if you aren’t used to it. (Don’t worry, it doesn’t take long!)

You can make the salad up to four hours in advance, so set aside a little quiet time before you get ready for your brunch or dinner, get a good serated knife and get to work.

The oat cakes can be made as much as 24 hours in advance. If you’re making this dish for guests, nothing feels better than having all the components ready and waiting so that all you have to do when they arrive is poach some eggs.

Leftover oat cakes freeze beautifully. So although you won’t be able to save the eggs or the artichokes, you can put away some oat cakes for another meal.

Why red wine poached eggs is a dish to serve your lover

In case you’re wondering what makes this dish worthy of featuring on an aphrodisiac foods website, oh let me tell you! At the heart of this dish are two of the world’s most highly regarded aphrodisiac ingredients. Firstly eggs. The egg is an international symbol of fertility. But that’s not all. Eggs actually contain nutrition to help support your sex life.

And then there’s red wine. Like all alcohol, it’s considered an aphrodisiac. But red wine has some attributes hard liquor does not possess. You might be surprised to discover all that red wine has to offer.

Red Wine Poached Eggs with Oat and Black Bean Cakes and Shaved Artichoke Salad

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This recipe is an unforgettable mashup of Burgundy and California. The technique of poaching the eggs in red wine is pure French. but the bean cakes and artichokes make a nice, America touch. It's a healthy and seductive egg dish for brunch or dinner.

Course brunch, Main Course

Cuisine American

Cooking Style Vegetarian

Diet and Health healthy-ish

Seasonal Easter, Mother's Day, spring

Ingredient eggs

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Author Annette Tomei

Ingredients

For the cakes:

• 2 tsp grapeseed oil
• 1/2 cup diced red onion
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp chipotle powder
• 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
• 1 clove garlic chopped
• 1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats do not use instant
• 1/2-3/4 cup simmering water
• 1 can low-sodium black beans drained and rinsed
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup flour (rice oat or wheat)
• 1-2 tbsp coconut oil

For the shaved artichoke salad:

• 12 baby artichokes or 1-2 standard size artichokes I love using purple artichokes for the pop of color
• 1 in Lemon cut half – half for prep, half for juice
• 1-2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Fresh ground pepper
• Additional Parmesan for garnish if desired

For the eggs

• 10 free-range eggs
• 1 750 ml bottle dry red wine (such as Shiraz, Merlot or Malbec)

Instructions

For the cakes:

• In a medium sauce pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and salt, sauté until soft.
• Add the spices and toast for 1-2 minutes.
• Add bell pepper and garlic. Sautee until pepper begins to soften.
• Sprinkle oats over the vegetable mixture and stir well, toasting the oats. Slowly incorporate water, stirring constantly (similar to risotto), adding water as necessary. Only add enough water to cook the oats while keeping the mixture as dry as possible. Incorporate beans.
• Pour mixture into a shallow dish. Stir in lemon juice and adjust season as necessary. At this point, the mixture can be refrigerated and stored for up to one day.

To assemble:

• Pour flour into a shallow dish.
• Scoop 1/4 cup portions of the mixture, roll into balls (moistening your hands with water helps prevent sticking). Lightly coat with flour and press into cakes of even thickness.
• Heat a heavy sauté pan over medium-high heat. Heat 1 tablespoon coconut oil.
• Place cakes in hot oil (cook in batches, replacing oil as necessary). Brown well, turn and brown second side; approximately 3 minutes per side.
• Serve immediately or hold warm on paper towel lined plate.

For the shaved artichoke salad:

• Prepare a medium bowl of cool water with juice of half a lemon squeezed into it; keep the lemon half handy as well.
• To clean the artichokes, trim the toughest outer leaves then, using a serrated knife, trim approximately 1/4-1/2 inch from the tops to remove prickly tips. Trim the stem end to remove hard dry tip but do not remove more than necessary (that’s the heart). Immediately rub the cut ends with the lemon and place in the acidulated water.
• In another mixing bowl, put the juice of the remaining half lemon.
• Working one at a time (to prevent oxidation), using a very sharp knife (or a serrated knife) cut each artichoke in half from stem to leaves, lay the flat side on the cutting board and cut very thin slices (again, from stem to leaves). Transfer immediately to the bowl of lemon juice and toss. Repeat until all artichokes are sliced.
• Add salt, mix well and allow to stand at room temperature 5-10 minutes.
• Grate Parmesan cheese with a fine grater. Add to artichoke mixture along with the extra virgin olive oil. Season to taste.
• *This salad can be made up to 4 hours in advance.

For the red wine poached eggs:

• Approximately 1 bottle (750 ml) wine for poaching (recommend dry red)
• teaspoon salt
• Fill a medium saucepan 3-inches deep with dry red wine. Bring to a low simmer (do not boil). Add approximately one teaspoon of salt.
• Crack an egg into a ramekin or small bowl. Stir the simmering wine to create a whirlpool and gently lower the egg from the bowl into the moving liquid, this will help create the “egg” shape of the finished product. You can cook 2-3 eggs at a time using this technique.
• Stir the liquid to keep the eggs cooking evenly. Skim away the foam and strands. Cook approximately 3 minutes per egg.
• Remove from the hot liquid with a slotted spoon and hold on a warm, paper towel-lined plate or bowl until ready to use.

To assemble the finished plate:

• Place 2 hot oat-bean cakes on a warm plate. Top with a heap of artichoke salad (approximately 1/2-3/4 cup).
• If necessary, re-warm the eggs in the simmering red wine before serving.
• Place the eggs on top of the artichoke salad. Garnish with fresh herbs, your choice of finishing salt, and/or fresh ground black pepper.
• If desired, serve with cucumber yogurt sauce.

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Amy Reiley

Eat Something Sexy's Creator & Editor-in-Chief Amy Reiley is the award-winning author of five aphrodisiac cookbooks. She has her Master of Arts in Gastronomy, awarded by Le Cordon Bleu and The University of Adelaide.

Amy is considered a leading authority on aphrodisiacs and her work in the field of aphrodisiac food history and health science is quoted in publications including National Geographic, The New York Times, Epicurious, Wine Enthusiast, Health and Playboy magazines. She speaks internationally on aphrodisiacs and has brought her knowledge of aphrodisiac foods to national television shows including The Today Show and CBS Early Show. She is a frequent guest on relationship and lifestyle radio and podcast shows and has been interviewed by BBC and NPR radio, Cosmopolitan radio and popular podcasts including My Dad Wrote a Porno.

Amy is also a freelance food, wine and health researcher and writer as well as a wine competition judge. Her work has appeared in publications ranging from Variety to The Daily Meal. She is an MSN content provider. And she is also a former wine editor for Gayot.com and wine & spirits editor of Las Vegas magazine.

Fun fact: Amy was the creator of the first ever comprehensive food and wine apps, Amy Reiley's Pocket Gourmet and Amy Reiley's Pocket Vineyard for Palm.

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