Italian · Breakfast · Easy
Eggs in Purgatory
Eggs poached in a bubbling pan of spicy tomato sauce, finished with parmesan and crusty bread for scooping.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Eggs in Purgatory, in 5 ideas
- The eggs keep cooking in the hot sauce off the heat, so pull them when the yolks still look loose.
- Adjust the red pepper flakes to your heat tolerance; the dish should warm, not punish.
- A spoonful of ricotta dolloped on top cools the spice and adds creaminess.
- This is a one-pan meal, which means almost no cleanup.
- Day-old sauce reheats beautifully; just crack fresh eggs in when serving.
What you need
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 4 to 6 large eggs
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- Fresh basil leaves
- Crusty bread, for serving
How to make it
Directions
- Heat olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion until soft, 5 minutes.
- Add garlic and red pepper flakes; cook 1 minute until fragrant.
- Pour in the crushed tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Simmer 12 minutes until slightly thickened.
- Make small wells in the sauce with a spoon and crack an egg into each one.
- Cover and cook 5 to 7 minutes, until the whites are set but the yolks still jiggle.
- Scatter parmesan and basil over the top and serve straight from the pan with crusty bread.
Money saver. Crack each egg into a small cup first, then slide it into the sauce. One bad egg never ruins the whole pan.