Oeufs et de Truite Marchand du Vin

Poached Eggs and Trout with Wine Merchant's Sauce!  This is a very fine Cajun recipe and a traditional New Orleans breakfast.  The flavors are beyond compare!
     Fresh trout and eggs with marchand du vin sauce is a very warm and comforting brunch entree.  New Orleans is one of the greatest breakfast or brunch towns in the world.  New Orleans is one of the only places where you will find a Marchand Du Vin sauce on a menu.  The techniques used to make this recipe are very old French Cajun.
     There are many modern versions of this sauce that are demi glace and red wine reductions finished with butter.  This recipe uses a red roux.  Not all Cajun food is spicy hot from cayenne pepper.  This recipe is very savory.
     Marchand Du Vin Sauce Recipe:  Finely chop a small handful of ham.  Set the ham aside.
     Finely 1 small handful of onion and set it aside.
     Finely chop 1 green onion and set it aside.
     Mince 2 garlic cloves and set them aside.
     Finely chop 1 small handful of mushrooms and set them aside. 
     (Be sure to have the vegetables and ham ready, before starting to cook the red roux.)
     Heat a sauce pot over medium high heat.
     Add 4 pats of unsalted butter.
     Add an equal amount of flour to the amount of butter while constantly stirring.  (Do not add too much flour or the roux will become caky!)
     Constantly stir the roux, till a red colored roux is formed.
     Add the fine chopped ham and vegetables to the hot roux and stir.  (The vegetables will cook instantly and the roux will not darken any further after the ingredients are added.)
     Stir for one minute.
     Add a generous splash of dry red wine.
     Add 1 cup of beef broth.
     Stir as the sauce heats, till a sauce is formed.
     Reduce the temperature to medium heat.
     Add 2 pinches of thyme leaves.
     Add a pinch of cayenne pepper.
     Add 2 pinches of coarse ground black pepper.
     Add a pinch of sea salt.  (If the ham is salty, then cut back on the amount of sea salt.)
     Simmer till the sauce is reduced to a light medium sauce consistency.
     Stir in a little bit of beef bone marrow or a couple of butter pats to finish the sauce over low heat.
     Trout Recipe:  Debone a whole, fresh, rainbow trout with the head attached, without cutting separate filets.  (Leave the head on the trout.  Use tweezers to pull the pin bones after cutting the spine and rib bones out.  Be careful not to damage the trout skin.)
     Set the trout on an oiled baking pan with the skin side down.
     Brush the trout with melted unsalted butter.
     Season with sea salt and fresh ground coarse black pepper.
     Squeeze a little bit of lemon juice over the trout.
     Bake the trout in a 400 degree oven till the trout becomes fully cooked.
     Oeufs et de Truite Marchand du Vin Recipe:  Poach 2 eggs with salted water in a shallow sauce pot over medium/medium high heat.
     Place the baked trout onto a serving platter using a large spatula.
     Set the two poached eggs on top of the trout.
     Pour a very generous amount of the marchand du vin sauce over the trout and eggs.
     Garnish the eggs with two blanched red bell pepper strips.
     Serve with biscuits and breakfast breads on the side.
     The mild flavor of trout makes it a perfect breakfast fish.  The Cajun Marchand Du Vin sauce is so nice with trout and eggs.  The sauce gives a warm feeling with wine, ham and mushroom overtones.  Trout breakfasts are common near mountainous regions of America and europe.  New Orleans is a city that likes traditional Cajun and French food.  This is my personal favorite classic New Orleans breakfast recipe!   ...  Shawna