Eggs in Purgatory
I first had eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce at a farmer’s market stall in Australia. It was by far the most exotic breakfast dish I’d ever eaten! It was a middle eastern dish called Shakshuka that we repeated often in our first years of marriage. Once we had children, eggs cooked in tomato sauce fell off our radar as foggy brained parents of newborns. We recently rediscovered this dish reinterpreted in Italian cuisine with a pinch of red pepper flakes and named eggs in purgatory. In all honesty, the children still don’t cheer for joy when we make this for a family meal. Sometimes, we explain, we get our favorites and sometimes we don’t. That’s life in a big family! Sometimes we set up an extra pan and fry up some eggs without sauce so we can all get our favorites.
Ingredients:
a knob of butter
4 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
1 jar crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
a pinch of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
2 eggs per person (1 egg per small person)
1/4 cup cream
1 tablespoon grated parmesan
a good crusty bread for eating
Directions:
In a large pan, put butter and heat over low heat. Add the thinly sliced garlic cloves and let simmer until golden brown.
Add the jar of tomatoes, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Stir to combine it all together.
Add the cream (not traditional, but it really smooths out the flavors) and stir it through.
Put the lid on and let the sauce simmer for about 10 minutes to let the flavors come together.
Make a little “well” in the sauce and crack an egg in one at a time. Add the lid and let the eggs cook until the white is set and the yolk is still soft. This should take about 5-8 minutes.
Top with fresh parsley and parmesan cheese and slices of good crusty bread.
