Poached eggs will taste far better with 1 unusual ingredient

Eggs are a kitchen classic, perfect for a healthy breakfast or a relaxed Sunday brunch. Among the many ways to enjoy them, poached eggs are a firm favourite. When done right, poached eggs are deliciously delicate, but they can easily turn bland or tricky to perfect. However, there's one ingredient you wouldn't normally associate with breakfast that adds an incredible depth of flavour to the dish, turning everyday poached eggs into something surprisingly special.

One cooking expert swears by white wine to make her poached eggs and says this is a "simple twist that immediately transformed the humble poached egg into something just a hint special and unexpected." Heidi Swanson, who runs the popular 101 Cookbooks blog, has long experimented with poaching eggs and makes them two to three times a week.

Inspired by an old French cookbook, she adapted a traditional red wine poached egg recipe by using a mixture of dry white wine, minced shallots, herbs, and a splash of water instead, making it her very own.

Swanson explained: "The nudge came from a tiny cookery volume titled The Flavour of France, Volume II, published in 1964.

She added: "This was a twist on an Oeufs Poches au Vin Rouge recipe, that I tweaked to my liking - using white wine, simplifying the instructions, and serving it open-faced on toasted bread."

Her method begins by simmering a cup of dry white wine with two minced shallots, a cup of water, a bay leaf, a pinch of thyme, and some salt, bringing it to a boil over medium-high heat for five minutes. Swanson recommends using a white wine "you wouldn't mind drinking the remainder of."

Then, reduce the heat and carefully crack the eggs into the pan. Cover and simmer for another five minutes, or until the egg whites are opaque and the yolks are cooked to your preference.

Once poached, the eggs are removed with a slotted spoon and set aside. Next, butter and flour are whisked into a paste and stirred into the strained poaching liquid, creating a smooth sauce which can be seasoned further with salt if needed.

The blogger serves the poached eggs over smashed avocado on toasted bread, drizzled with the sauce and sprinkled with fresh chives for a delicious and elegant breakfast or brunch.

One person commented: "For years my husband has been frying eggs in butter, then splashing with wine at the finish, sprinkling parmesan and putting a lid on it for a minute. It is delicious, so it never occurred to us to go to the straight poach. We will try this gentler approach."

Another person wrote: "I made this tonight and served it over leftover black rice with avocado on the side. It was delicious and so simple.

"I added tarragon instead of chives and thickened the sauce with arrowroot. Didn't strain it because the shallot added nice texture. Thank you Heidi!"