Sunday lunch
For the last few weeks I have been hoping, longing and praying for Spring to come. There was a point where I nearly believed my prayers were heard, as the days were getting a little warmer and sun came out much more than we’re used to seeing it here.
This happiness, however, was short lived, for this morning we woke in winter wonderland, a sight that would be so welcome on Christmas morning, but much unappreciated for end of February, when Spring should start knocking on the door.
Ok, so it’s missing a couple of more centimetres of snow to be a true winter wonderland, but you know what I mean.
It’s more appropriate for the beginning of winter, rather the end…
I think this poor soul agrees with me…
On such days there are but a few options: to adapt the French manner of complaining about the poorly chosen geographical zone to live in, or to cook something deeply comforting and essentially French.
Taking the above description into account, beouf bourguignon, my favourite dish of all time, would be the first choice, but alas, to have it ready for Sunday lunch, I’d have to start cooking way before breakfast or the night before for best results.
My second option, which still provides the wonderfully rich red wine sauce minus hours in the kitchen are les oeufs en meurette: poached eggs served on a toast with meurette sauce. A classic sauce from Burgundy, prepared in the same style as the basis for beouf bourguignon, but takes considerably less time. Combined with oozing egg yolk it’s delicious without being heavy, ideal for a lazy Sunday lunch.
The eggs can be poached by simply dropping them into simmering water, or if you’re in a mood for a fancy version you can poach them wrapped cling film.
Traditionally oeufs en meurette are served on a toast, but I’ve been crazy enough to mix bread at midnight and we had home baked sourdough bread with oats and flaxseed (recipe here), and no fancy baguette can beat home baked bread.
The rest is quite easy, you’ll need some kitchen basic like onions, carrots, celery and bacon!
Most recipes for oeufs en meurette would call for un-smoked lardons, or to blanch it for 1-2 minutes in boiling water, to get rid of the smoky flavour, but I find the “smokiness” such a welcome addition. It reminds me of childhood (nothing to do with France), when my grandfather would be prepping bacon and hams in the smoking chamber, by the time they were ready the smell of smoky meat would hang meters away, and whenever I now have to cook with bacon, my preference always lies with smoked variety.
If you’d order this dish in a restaurant, you’d probably get it with a strained silky smooth red sauce.
But the bacon and veggies cooked in red wine are so bloody delicious, it would be a crime, a sin to throw them away.
And this is my perfect lazy Sunday lunch.
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 100 grams lardons
- 1 medium carrot, diced
- 1 celery stick, diced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- beef trimmings (optional)
- 2 cups red wine (500 ml)
- 1 cup beef stock (250 ml)
- 50 grams cold butter
- salt
- freshly grounded pepper
- 1 rosemary spring
- few thyme springs
- few parsley stalks
- 1 bay leaf
- bread, toasted
- In a deep sauce pan heat the oil and fry lardons on medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the onion and continue to cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, add carrot and celery and cook for a few more minutes.
- Finally, pour in the wine and stock, season with black pepper and add bouquet garni.
- Bring the sauce to simmer and let it cook for 35-45 minutes. It should be reduced by about ⅔.
- Before serving, remove bouqet garni and whisk in the butter.
- To poach wrapped eggs, grease the cling wrap with a little oil to prevent the egg sticking to it.
- Then place the cling wrap in a small bowl and crack the eggs in it.
- Gather up the edges of the cling wrap twisting and assuring no air pockets remain. Tie the know as close the the egg white as possible. Repeat with remaining eggs.
- Cook in boiling water for 4 minutes.
- Serve, 1-2 eggs per person on toasted bread (few minutes under a hot grill) with warm sauce!
Beautiful landscapes and a scrumptious lunch! Oeufs en meurette must taste really good.
Cheers,
Rosa
Thanks Rosa!
Relaxing, scenery is beautiful and lots of one delicious recipe my friend
Cheers
CCU
What a decadent lunch, perfect for a relaxing and quiet Sunday!
Thanks Laura, we all need to indulge sometimes (or just all the time)
What a great recipe. I love how you cooked the eggs. This would be very comforting on what looks like a very cold day. To me, it’s beautiful scenery but I can understand how by this stage of the season you are hoping and praying for some blue skies and a green landscape xx
Whoops! Somehow my name didn’t show.
Thanks, it was freezing yesterday (literally) to the point where you don’t want to jump off the warm couch.
You take such beautiful pictures! Loving this blog.
Interesting way of poaching eggs. I’ve never seen it done that way, in cling film. This is the kind of breakfast of dreams, really. 
Thank you Jayne, this egg poaching method is probably the best “fool proof” I know, and you get the same result every time, very useful for a dinner party or just lunch for more people.
What a perfectly poached egg and a great technique that I look forward to trying! Such a luscious sauce, too. A perfect lunch for a dreary day….but spring is right around the corner! : )
Yes, fingers crossed Spring would come soon, or… I’m going to have to consider moving more south I believe
Oh, my. You have put my Sunday lunch to shame. Beautifully presented (love your bread!!!) and utterly gourmet and delicous! Brava!!!
Grazie mille!
Atrodo skaniai, bet man slystas kiausinis vienas is nevalgomu dalyku
Tikrai? Bloga patirtis kazkada? Man skystas trynys beveik kaip surio padazas…
Net nezinau del ko, kiek as save prisimenu man visada tas trynys neskaniai labai atrodydavo. Net nebandau dabar ragaut
The same here in Stocholm… so looking forward spring now. Nice choice for a Sunday lunch… it looks very inviting!
Thanks so much! I’ve just seen yesterday that in Stockholm is even colder, so I guess I can’t complain too much.
Thank you so much for stopping by my website so that I could find your lovely place here on the blogisphere. Your idea for poaching eggs is brilliant and it turned out just beautiful. I would love to sink my fork into this great little meal. Looking forward to keeping in touch. Take Care, BAM
Thanks so much! And, I’m still thinking about that swordfish dish!
Lovely, absolutely lovely.
I agree, nothing compares to homemade bread. *fingers crossed* that spring will arrive soon!
Thanks Valerie!
Just something about the oozing of a perfectly cooked egg yolk that makes any dish richer, fuller, better. This looks delicious. –Thanks for leaving a comment on Savoring Today, I’m so glad to find your blog too.
Absolutely, oozing yolk could uplift the most humble plate to something special!
What a lovely Sunday lunch to linger over, as you relax. Your pictures are beautiful. Hopefully spring is around the corner, however tomorrow in Chicagoland we’re supposed to get six inches of snow Ugh!
Thank you for visiting my blog, and your kind words..
Thanks Becky, you’re getting six inches of snow??? Oh dear, I’d better stop complaining about those few drops…
Lovely photo’s, your meal looks amazing!
Thank you Natalie
I have a good 6-8 more weeks of winter Sundays. This is a must-do. And I wouldn’t waste one drop of that boozy liquid. If I have to have winter Sundays – I might as well indulge with meals like this.
Oh yes! Weekends are absolutely meant for indulging, and a glass (or two) of red wine with oeufs en meurette is obligatory
Oh yum, that looks SO fantastic! Gorgeous pictures, too.
Thanks so much Amy!
Looks amazing! And I never would have thought to poach eggs in plastic wrap (that’s pretty genius)…is it the stronger plastic wrap that is used in restaurants?? Love all the pictures, especially of the snow and ice
Hi Laura, I’ve used the regular (thin) plastic wrap, that’s used to cover up bowls. There’s no need for a stronger one, actually the stronger one maybe even more difficult to tie.
I haven’t had this delicacy for years! And I have never even tried preparing it! Your oeufs en meurette look amazing, especially the funny way to poach them (I have seen it recently on a French tv program and still remember how surprised I was by this magical method). Thank you for the inspiration! By the way, I cannot even imagine making such gorgeous photos of a poached egg.
Thanks so much Sissi, I actually saw this method for poaching watching Masterchef Australia some time ago and it’s been my best friend ever since
beautiful photos! and this sounds so crazy delicious…i just adore eggs!
Thank you so much
Awesome pictures but as far as late snow we speak the same language lol. Oh boeuf bourginon…it has been to long. But I LOVE the way the egg is cooked, I so have to try this over the coming weekend.
Thanks Evelyne, now that I think about it, it’s been too long since I cooked boeuf bourguignon too. It’s a bit of a sin to not enjoy such dish more frequently.
Thought this winter has been draggin here in NYC but obviously you’ve had worse. Now your Oeufs en meurette sounds just amazing! If I had this for my past Sunday brunch my weekend would have been a lot better!! I appreciate for the detailed recipe and fabulous pictures. Thanks for sharing!
I guess we’re suffering from prolonged winter all around, but hopefully it shall pass soon. Thank you so much for your kind words!
I hope the winter/snow storm tides down soon. Give spring a chance, huh?!
Stay safe and warm my friend!
Yes, fingers crossed for a quick Spring
Hang in there! Spring will come soon, it has to! This dish is the perfect way to console and comfort yourself! i would love to have a bite!
Thank you so much Katerina.
Same here, yearning for spring. The cherry blossoms have started to come out but specks of snow still fall from time to time (yes, just a few specks, like a sprinkling of salt). Thanks for sharing the poached egg in cling film trick. Love egg on toast but never had this it this fancy. Great dish.
Thank you! We keep getting sort of apocalyptic weather here: sun shining one minute, snow storm the other.
Gorgeous scenery and a beautiful lunch!
Thanks Asmita!
I love the poaching technique. Great for when you need to do a lot of them. I can sympathize with how you feel about winter at this time of the year. We have so much snow on the ground and more coming tonight.
Hi Karen, this poaching technique is a life savor during a dinner party!
p.s. I saw the photos you’ve posted, now that is a true winter wonderland..
It looks like a winter wonderland to my eyes – so pretty and snowy and white. It doesn’t snow out here, alas, I suppose that’s why I find it so beautiful.
The lunch sounds perfect for the chilly weather. Hearty and comforting!
Thank you Joyti, I love winter, but mostly in early months before Christmas, now we’ve had enough
p.s. though it does give an excuse to whip up some extreme comfort food!
Thanks for stopping by my blog today, those eggs look so pretty!
What fabulous & beautiful pictures & a grand & very stylish egg recipe! Yum Yum Yum!
Thank you
That top photo is a stunner. All of the photos are nice (particularly the scenic ones) but I love the top one. And this recipe looks so good, too! I’ve had this before, but never made it myself – and I wonder why, because it’s pretty simple and so good. Good post – thanks.
Your photographs are gorgeous! I’m jealous of the snow – I live in the foothills and even our higher elevations have gotten below average snowfall this year
I love that you love full-bodied wine sauces…I find food made with wine is so classy, elegant and satisfying! I will definitely give this recipe a try!
What a beautiful and comforting dish. Yes, this will definitely help with the winter blues. It’s getting a bit warmer in L.A. already, hope Spring will arrive soon in your area. But I’m really adoring the beauty of the winter wonderland in your area.
This is looking lovely, love the idea of making the egg wrapped in clingfilm. Have to try this too.
Brrrr… it does looks so cold! I would want to stay in and eat your delicious Oeufs en meurette!! I LOVE your method for poaching an egg with plastic wrap. HOW COOL is that! I am eager to give it a try now.
Gourmantine, this sounds so incredibly comforting — the yolk mingling with the sauce — the crunch of the toasted bread. Mmmmm… I’m warm already. Neat way to poach eggs, too — I’ll have to give that a go!