MEATBALLS IN TOMATO SAUCE WITH EGGS IN PURGATORY
A simple recipe to prepare meatballs with eggs cooked directly in the sauce, for a light but tasty dinner.
I had been wanting to prepare this dish for a while, which my mom often made in the evening: lots of mixed meat meatballs, a nice tomato sauce, and in the middle, the eggs cooked in the last 15 minutes of cooking: I can assure you that you’ll lick your lips and a second helping is guaranteed 😉
The name comes from the fact that when you pour the egg into the sauce, it goes down into a form of purgatory… oh, grandmothers really invented a lot 😉
Let’s see how to make this really simple dish for a perfect little dinner.
EMIMETTOAIFORNELLI suggests:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 15 Minutes
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 12 oz mixed ground meat
- 2 slices stale bread
- 3 1/3 tbsp milk (or water)
- 1 egg
- 1 clove garlic
- 3 tbsps fresh cheese
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 onion
- 4 1/4 cups tomato pulp
- 4 eggs (1 per person)
Tools
For the best result of the recipe, I recommend these tools (ADV)
- Pan
- Cutting Board
- Bowl
Steps
In a bowl, break the stale bread into pieces (by hand or with the help of a knife)
and pour milk over it. If you can organize and do this a few hours earlier, it’s better, otherwise let it rest for an hour.
Once done, squeeze the bread between your hands and drain the milk, put it back in the bowl and add all the ingredients to make the meatballs: make sure to cut the garlic into small pieces.
Let it rest in the fridge for 15 minutes.
In a pan, pour a little oil and chop the onion separately, then add it to the pan.
Once rested, form the meatballs like this: wet the palms of your hands, take some dough and roll it between your hands, then roll it over a plate with a thin layer of breadcrumbs.
Place each meatball in the pot as you finish all the dough.
Turn on the stove at a low flame and just brown the meatballs, turning them to form a darker crust: then pour in the tomato pulp and let it cook with the lid on for about 45 minutes.
Stir from time to time and salt the sauce to taste.
The last 15 minutes of cooking, do it this way: with a spoon, make space between each meatball and crack an egg inside, immediately add a pinch of salt on top and always close with the lid.
The egg will sink but it’s perfectly normal, hence the name ‘in purgatory’ 🙂
After the time has passed, the dish MEATBALLS IN TOMATO SAUCE WITH EGGS IN PURGATORY is ready to be enjoyed.
