“Uova in Purgatorio” is the Italian version of the Mediterranean classic, shakshouka, where eggs are poached in a pan of flavorful tomato sauce. It’s a very simple and quick meal using very common ingredients—a great culinary trick to keep up your sleeve!
In Italy, this dish is literally called “eggs in purgatory.” While the fiery, red tomato sauce can look downright hellish, the name probably comes from the way the eggs are suspended in sauce and kept half cooked so the yolks remain runny. They’re not quite incorporated into the sauce until you decide to dig in and eat!
Serving Sizes & Ingredients
You can easily scale this recipe up and cook as many eggs as you like, provided there’s room in your pan and you have enough tomato sauce on hand. Most large skillets can accommodate 3 to 5 eggs, but if you have a larger one feel free to cook more. Regarding the sauce, you just need enough to fill the entire bottom of the pan with about 1 inch.
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Uova in Purgatorio Recipe
Makes: 4 eggs
Cook Time: 10 to 15 minutes
For this recipe, you will need:
- 2 to 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ cups (350 milliliters) simple tomato sauce, or enough to fill your pan with about 1 inch
- Red pepper flakes to taste (optional)
- 4 large eggs
- Salt
- Fresh basil
- Grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese to taste
- Large skillet
Fill a large skillet with about 1 inch of tomato sauce and bring to a simmer. If you want to make things spicy, feel free to stir in some chili pepper flakes.
Evenly spaced across the pan, crack in each of the eggs so that they remain whole, suspended in the sauce. Lightly salt each egg, cover the pan and let them cook over medium/low heat until the whites are opaque but the yolks remain runny—about 8 to 10 minutes.
Garnish the dish with some torn basil leaves and a generous grating of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Serve immediately. You can carefully serve the eggs individually (along with plenty of surrounding sauce) using a large spatula or spoon, or you can serve the dish in the traditional way: eaten right out of the pan.
Buon appetito!
You’ll need a very good tomato sauce to make this dish, and we have the perfect recipe! It’s quick, easy, and WAY better than anything you’ll find at the store.
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