The eggs in purgatory are a typical dish of the Neapolitan tradition, mentioned as early as 1837. They are easy and quick to prepare! The sunny-side-up eggs cooked in tomato sauce with chopped onion and fresh basil are very similar to huevos rancheros, a peasant dish from Mexican rural farms, or to shakshuka, a Maghrebi dish later introduced into Israeli cuisine by Maghrebi Jews. It also arrived in Italy following the exodus of Tripolitanian Jews. However, green chilies, garlic, and many spices such as turmeric, paprika, and cumin are added.
Called egg in purgatory by the Christian tradition because the egg white, once cooked, becomes white, then surrounded by the tomato sauce. This could evoke the pure souls of the deceased enveloped by the flames of purgatory.
The true delight is mixing the yolk with the tomato sauce and scooping it up with bread, preferably homemade and toasted. In short, an economical and quick-to-prepare last-minute second course. You will only need four ingredients: eggs, canned tomato sauce, chopped onion, and basil leaves.
I’ve waited so long, too long, to prepare and then share with you this typical Neapolitan cuisine preparation that I adore. Fragrant, tasty, and easy to prepare, this recipe will win you over! Economical ingredients we have at home, from eggs to tomato sauce. In 30 minutes we’ll have dinner or lunch ready to serve at the table!
Over the years, I’ve prepared many egg recipes. At my home, they are never missing, always at room temperature on the kitchen shelf, useful for desserts, first courses, and quick and easy seconds! Eggs are an economical ingredient, perfect for adults and children, obviously without overdoing the doses or the weekly consumption.
To prepare the eggs in purgatory for two people, we will use three whole eggs, allowing us to share them. A reasonable consumption of eggs has a positive impact: they help to increase “good” cholesterol while decreasing “bad” cholesterol.
I have recorded the video recipe for eggs in purgatory with tomato sauce to assist you throughout the preparation, as if we were all cooking together in my kitchen!
Below you will find other egg recipes that I have published here on my cooking blog. You will also find the meatballs with quail eggs, which I absolutely recommend you to try, delicious and tasty! We can then prepare the stuffed tomatoes with eggs, perfect to enjoy both hot and cold.
Or a nice green bean and tuna salad with hard-boiled eggs. Then there are the stuffed eggs with asparagus and the crostini with raw ham, hard-boiled egg, and ricotta cream, perfect for aperitif! For those with a sweet tooth, you can try the fried egg yolk, a simple, tasty, and easy recipe that you can’t miss! Every link below is clickable and will take you directly to the recipe you have chosen to read!
I remind you that I am waiting for you every morning in the group and on the Facebook fan page of Le Ricette di Bea with the Recipe of the Day! An unmissable appointment to start the day together with a sweet or savory treat!
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Economical
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 2 People
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, All Seasons
- Energy 191.37 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 9.66 (g) of which sugars 0.22 (g)
- Proteins 14.17 (g)
- Fat 11.55 (g) of which saturated 4.37 (g)of which unsaturated 5.08 (g)
- Fibers 1.97 (g)
- Sodium 349.86 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 225 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for Eggs in Purgatory
- 3 eggs (medium-large)
- 8.8 oz tomato pulp (peeled)
- to taste onion (finely chopped)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch pepper
- 4 leaves basil
- 1 drizzle extra virgin olive oil
Tools for Preparing Eggs in Purgatory
- 1 Pan
- 1 Wooden Spoon
- 1 Stovetop
- 1 Lid
- 1 Scissors
If you want to purchase the wooden spoon with the Le Ricette di Bea logo, send an email to [email protected] or write a message in the blog’s social profiles chat!
Steps for Eggs in Purgatory Recipe
Let’s start by preparing the tomato sauce for the eggs in purgatory. Take a non-stick pan and pour in a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and some chopped white onion. Place on the stovetop and let it brown until it becomes whitish. We can then add the peeled tomato pulp after gently mashing it with a fork.
Let it cook for 20 minutes with a lid and medium-low flame. Please note, the low flame is very important for the correct cooking of the eggs in purgatory with fresh basil tomato. After this time, we can proceed with cooking the sunny-side-up eggs.
Take the eggs and gently crack them directly into the pan, after creating a small hole with the wooden spoon where to place the egg. If you prefer, you can also crack the eggs into a small bowl and then carefully lay them in the hole created for their cooking. In my case, the pan is 24 cm and I already knew I could only fit three eggs. If you need to prepare more eggs, you’ll need a larger pan and, of course, a larger quantity of tomato pulp.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the lid back on the pan and let it cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the sunny-side-up eggs. The eggs should remain soft, with the yolk still runny, so it can be mixed with the tomato.
Shortly before turning off the flame, we can cut the fresh basil with scissors and sprinkle it over the eggs in purgatory. We will finally be ready to serve lunch or dinner to our guests or our family!
I can only wish you a good appetite and remind you that I am here every day on my blog with many easy, quick, and delicious recipes like this one!
Tips and Variations of the Recipe:
Recipe Tips: never raise the flame during the entire preparation of the eggs in purgatory. Keep the flame low, almost at a minimum and always constant. This will prevent the tomato sauce from becoming too dry and that the sunny-side-up eggs exceed the cooking point. The eggs should remain nice and soft and delicious, with the yolk that can drip and mix with the tomato sauce to make this dish truly unique.
Recipe Variations: you can choose parsley instead of basil. I don’t particularly like it, and for this reason, I used fresh basil to scent these eggs in purgatory. You can choose to serve two eggs per person compared to the dose indicated in the ingredient list.
If you want to try the recipe for Mexican eggs, you can add some chili pepper as a spice. If you are curious about the Maghrebi version, you can add turmeric, cumin, and chili pepper. There is also the version with bell peppers and the version with tofu instead of chicken eggs.
