I live in a city much too big to frequent the same place for brunch more than once. Yet, I do.
Brunch can have an intimidating number of menu choices--am I going to have champagne and the sweetest thing on the menu, or am I going to have a Bloody Mary and something savory with eggs? Most often, I chose the savory route. My life has, um, a lot of desserts in it.
My friend Heather introduced me to a restaurant that has a 'kale + toast' option with a poached egg on top. I order it nearly every time. It just never gets old. I get my beloved poached egg with runny yolk, a fantastic few slices of local bread, and the added perk of knowing that before noon, I've consumed some leafy greens. Kale makes me feel so self-righteous! Nevermind the other 6 days that week when I ate Nutella on not-local toast...
Moving on, one of the benefits of making my favorite brunch recipe at home is that I can have extra toast if I wanna. Plus, instead of sauteed kale, I opted to make a super garlicky kale pesto.
Oh, did you notice my eggs are purple? That's because I poached them in red wine! I love Entwine wines because the labels tell you exactly what to eat while drinking the wine. And while the Merlot label doesn't specifically say 'runny egg yolk,' I'm just assuming that's because they don't think you'll be drinking wine at breakfast. But, I say, don't let that hold you back. Live your life!
Kale on Toast with Red Wine Poached Eggs
A delicious brunch for two.
Ingredients
- 5 cups chopped kale
- 2 garlic cloves
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- juice of ½ a lemon
- pinch red pepper flakes
- 4 slices of your favorite bread
- 4 large eggs
- 3 cups Entwine Merlot (light, fruity wine)
Instructions
- First, make the kale pesto: combine the kale, garlic, oil, salt, and lemon juice in a blender. Puree until it resembles pesto. Taste and add red pepper flakes to taste, and re-blend. Set aside.
- Toast your bread slices (I like them on a grill pan for extra crispiness).
- Bring the wine to a boil in a small saucepan. Alcohol will boil at a lower temperature than water, so it won't take as long to boil. This also means that poaching eggs in alcohol takes longer than normal.
- Once the wine is simmering, stir it with a wooden spoon to create a swift funnel in the center. Gently crack one egg into the moving water. Poach the egg for about 4 minutes. It will still appear soft and delicate.
- Repeat with all remaining eggs.
- Serve the toast smeared with the kale pesto, and topped with the poached eggs.
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 373.3Total Fat: 4.11gCarbohydrates: 72.2gProtein: 11.49g
Erin@WellPlated says
These photos, WOW!!! Also, wine poached eggs are such a fun, classy way to dress up brunch. Cheers!
Julie says
Gorgeous! I never would've thought to poach eggs in wine or make pesto from kale, but now I'm dying to try both!
Jessica @ Golden Brown and Delicious says
Where do you brunch in STL? We're stuck in a brunch rut and desperate for new places!
Taylor says
Those eggs are such a gorgeous color, and such a great excuse to drink wine in the AM!
Heather says
Ahhh! I was reading along and saw my name and my blog and ahhh! Thanks for the mention. :) This recipe looks amazing, per usual, but I'm a little ok concerned that you have enough wine to just cook with it. I don't even have that much wine...
nosh says
so off the topic here.... but wanted to ask u, which company essential oil would you recommend as u mentioned you used lavender in your pregnanacy?
Sandy says
Can the wine be saved and reused for future egg poaching?
Christina Lane says
That's an interesting question! I'm not sure that I would...I'm worried the egg flavors will seep into the wine and become more egg-y over time?
Firechef says
Very interesting and unusual presentation. Will def. try it!