Eggs In Purgatory

This delicious, ancient Italian dish of eggs baked in rich tomato sauce is good for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner! I made it when our son, Mike was recently in town and served it for dinner over bucatini pasta.

Also known as “Uova in Purgatorio” in Italy this dish dates back to the 17th century, most likely coming out of Naples. The bubbling red tomato sauce represents the cleansing flames of purgatory and the poached white eggs symbolize souls awaiting purification before ascending into heaven. You have to love the story!

There are similar dishes around the world. One of my favorites, Shakshuka from Northern Africa uses green bell peppers, onions and spices like cumin, paprika and harissa in the red sauce. It’s much spicier than the Italian version and also does not use cheese. It is made on the stove-top, not baked.

Turkey has their own version, Menemen, but scrambles the eggs rather than poaching. Part of what makes this dish so special is the creamy, runny egg yolk, which mixes perfectly with the tomato sauce.

Making the red sauce is easy. I think the best tomatoes to use when making your own sauce are plum tomatoes. Slice them in half, brush tops and bottoms with olive oil and place them on a foil lined baking sheet, cut side up.

Add 2 cloves of smashed garlic and salt and pepper liberally. Place them in a preheated 350 degree oven and roast cut-side up for 15 minutes. Turn tomatoes over and roast until soft, around another 20 minutes.

Let cool, then scrape mixture into a blender, add oregano, a little red pepper flake and puree until smooth. If you want an even smoother sauce, strain through a fine mesh sieve pressing on the solids. I like a little texture so did not do this step.

Place 4 shallow, ovenproof bowls on a baking sheet. Since there were just 3 of us for dinner I used 3 bowls only and really topped them up with red sauce as I wanted to make sure the bucatini pasta had plenty of tomato sauce.

Crack two eggs into each bowl making sure not to break the yolks. Season with salt and pepper.

Ready to go into the oven.

Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the eggs and bake until whites are just set, about 18 to 20 minutes.

Click on the photos to enlarge.

Once the whites of the eggs are “set” carefully remove from the bowls and lay over the pasta. Serve piping hot. I served with a small green salad and some crusty garlic bread.

This is the look on Mike’s face as he finished his Eggs In Purgatory!

This dish was so tasty and sparked much fun conversation over dinner!

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Eggs In Purgatory, AKA Uova in Purgatorio

The sauce is a little spicy and eggs are meltingly delicious.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs. Plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
• 2 cloves Garlic, smashed
• 2 Tbsp. Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt/Pepper
• 1 tsp. Fresh oregano, chopped
• 1/8 tsp. Red Pepper Flake; more if you want it spicier That's a pinch.
• 2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese, grated

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush olive oil on both sides of the tomato and lay in a foil-lined sheet pan, cut side up, with the smashed garlic cloves. Season with salt and pepper. Roast cut side up for 15 minutes. Turn tomatoes over and roast until soft, about another 20 minutes. Let cool, then scrape into a blender, add oregano and red pepper flake and puree until smooth.
• Place 4 shallow, ovenproof bowls on a baking sheet. Divide the sauce evenly between the bowls. Carefully crack 2 eggs into each bowl. Season the egg with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the eggs and bake until the whites are just set; about 18 to 20 minutes.