Poached Eggs with Chipotle Sauce
Submitted by dmcavoy
Poached eggs with smoky chipotle cream sauce over cornbread. A Mexican brunch plate that swaps hollandaise for rehydrated chipotle chiles simmered in sage and thyme cream.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
30 minREADY
45 minSmoky, picante, and unapologetically rich. This brunch plate ditches hollandaise for a chipotle cream sauce built on rehydrated dried chipotle chiles, shallots softened in olive oil, and a roux thickened with chicken broth and cream.
The sauce does the talking. Dried chiles get bloomed in boiling water for at least an hour, then puréed until smooth so the heat distributes evenly instead of clobbering one bite. Sage and thyme ground the sauce with savory depth, while the cream rounds off the chipotle burn so it lingers rather than bites.
Poach the eggs until the whites set but the yolks stay molten. Set them on thick squares of cornbread, ladle the sauce over the top, and let the yolk break into the chile cream. Sweet cornbread, runny yolk, smoky heat. Breakfast, fixed.
Chef Tips
- Start with 2 teaspoons of chipotle purée and taste before adding more. The heat builds as the sauce reduces.
- Save leftover chipotle purée in a small jar with a film of oil on top. It keeps a week in the fridge and lifts scrambled eggs, chili, or bean soups.
- Add a splash of vinegar to the poaching water to help the whites hold together around the yolk.
- Cornbread squares should be thick enough to soak up sauce without falling apart. Day-old bread actually works better here.
Variations
- Swap cornbread for toasted sourdough or a warm corn tortilla stack.
- Round the plate with black beans, chorizo, and a cool mango or pineapple compote to balance the smoke.
- Stir a spoonful of the chipotle purée into the cream sauce for eggs Benedict with a Mexican accent.
Ingredients
Directions
Before you begin preparing everything else, pour boiling water over chipotle or mora chiles.
Cover and let soak for at least 1 hour.
When chiles are well softened, purée them in a food processor with ¼ cup w or chicken broth.
Meanwhile, sauté shallots in olive oil until softened.
Then add flour and cook until lightly brown.
Stir in the herbs and slowly whisk in the chicken broth.
Simmer for 5 minutes and then add the cream.
Simmer sauce for 15 minutes or until slightly reduced.
Cream will thicken.
Add 2 teaspoons of the chipotle purée and simmer for 5 minutes longer to concentrate flavors.
If you want more chipotle flavor, you may add more purée at this point.
Be careful, it’s picante.
Taste, and add salt, if necessary.
Poach or lightly fry the eggs.
Cut corn bread into 6 large squares.
Put a square on each plate.
Place cooked eggs on top of corn bread and ladle on about ⅓ cup of Chipotle Sauce per serving.
These eggs are great accompanied by black beans, turkey sausages and a fresh fruit compote to cool down the palate.
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