Eggs in Purgatory. I was first introduced to this dish watching Nigella Lawson. She talked about working as cleaning staff in a hotel in Italy to fund her travels. She waxed on about the sunshine and the views, then in classic Nigella style, switched gears from this idyllic imagery to talking about the best hangover breakfast dish with a smile. <snort> That woman has made me cough on more coffee! It is an amazing, effortless dish, and I hope you love my take on it.
Jen’s Eggs in Purgatory
This is enough tomatoes for 3-4 people. Adjust to your serving size.
Turn a skillet to medium and add, stirring:
2 strips of bacon per person, cut into lardons (about 1/4″ strips across the pack)
Continue stirring occasionally until you get to your desired crispiness.
Add:
1 clove garlic per person – minced or pressed
several grinds of fresh pepper
Stir for half a minute, then add:
1 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes
a pinch of salt
Let this bubble away for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add:
2 eggs per person
salt and pepper
Season. Let it bubble away til the whites are set. With a nice wide pan, I didn’t need a lid, but you might with a smaller pan.
Plate and garnish:
Parmesan or Romano cheese – grated
fresh Basil or parsley
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My favorite cast iron skillet is a 12″ Lodge dual handle pan. Why, the long handles are too heavy to hold with a single hand when they’re loaded up. Since you’re using two hands anyway, you might as well get the ones that take up less space and stack so much better!
Lodge 12″ dual handle cast-iron pan
My favorite knife. It’s a 7″ full tang Santoku. Full tang just means that the blade runs the full length of the knife. The blade and handle aren’t two separate components, so there’s no breaking point. I chose the Ikon handle design, which is wonderfully ergonomic. I have spent hours on a produce sculpture before and my hand was just as comfy at the end. It’s worth the pennies.
Wusthof WU4176 Classic Ikon 7-Inch Santoku, Hollow Edge, Black
I get asked about my spice wall all the time. The magnetic tins on the wall are great for any spices or salt-free blends. Salt corrodes the tins, so anything with salt is in a glass jar on the counter underneath.
Nigella Lawson! My goddess, my queen, my empress, my ultimate cooking idol and the main reason I started to cook in my 30s. Isn’t she absolutely wonderful? And your uovos en purgatorio look mighty fine indeed!
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I love her, too. I’ll never forget the first time I saw her. She was teaching Carbonara, explaining that it’s best shared in bed that first night after with the sauce dripping on your chubby chins. She smiled distractedly, as if she were lost in a memory, and then continued. So good.
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I remember that episode, too! I also loved her midnight raids on the fridge and her way of smacking the chicken around to tenderize it. She is so my idol. 🙂
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So it’s like shakshuka without the extra vegetables?
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Yeah. It’s a lot like it. This is the Italian version, so no Harissa.
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…for the coincidence – I’m reading Purgatory now – even though these eggs have a more southern flavor: ‘…there’s the story of how Dante used to sit on a rock watching the construction of Florence’s cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore, more famously known as the Duomo, which was begun in 1296. He would reportedly sit alone for hours, writing love poems to Beatrice, and the rock became known as “il sasso di Dante,” or Dante’s rock. One day, a fellow Florentine passed by and asked the poet, “What do you like to eat for breakfast?” Not looking up, Dante replied: “Eggs.” A year later, the same Florentine supposedly found the poet perched on the same rock, again lost in thought, and decided to test the poet’s famous memory. “How?” he asked. “With salt,” Dante quickly answered….’ unless, or course he’d… enjoyed a bit much the preceding eve….
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Thanks for sharing, Tonno! 😀
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