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Eggs in Purgatory Recipe from Southern Italy – The Calabrian Rendition with Spicy Nduja. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.
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5 from 2 votes

Eggs in Purgatory Recipe – Calabrian Rendition with Spicy Nduja

This Eggs in Purgatory recipe for Uova al Purgatorio in Italian makes the Calabrian rendition of this Southern Italian egg dish. This centuries-old dish of eggs poached in a rich tomato sauce originated in Naples. The secret to this spicy iteration is ’nduja, the spreadable, spicy sausage from Calabria.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 20 minutes
Course: Breakfast, Brunch
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 2 People
Calories: 474kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil more for drizzling on toast
  • 60 g red shallots or Tropea onions finely sliced
  • 2 large cloves garlic 1 thinly sliced and 1 halved
  • 1 tsp red-pepper flakes more to taste
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 60 g roasted red peppers diced
  • 60 g 'nduja plus extra to serve
  • 600 g can peeled tomatoes
  • ½ tsp fine sea salt more to taste
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • 1 large sprig fresh basil or parsley more to serve
  • 2 tbsp grated Pecorino Romano
  • 4 eggs
  • baguette sliced and toasted, for serving

Instructions

  • Place the oil in a large pan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the sliced garlic pieces to the pan and sweat the garlic until it the oil bubbles vigorously around the slices. Remove the garlic slices and discard.
  • Add the onion to the pan and sweat slowly over a medium-low heat for 15 minutes or until soft. We do not want the onions to colour, just to be translucent and fragrant. Add the remaining garlic and cook for 1 minute.
  • Add the 'nduja and the tomato paste and sweat the 'nduja until it becomes soft and almost liquid.
  • Add the tomatoes to the pan and crush them down a little. Season with salt and simmer over a low heat for 45 minutes. We want a relatively thick sauce but if it becomes too stiff, add a little water. Taste for seasoning.
  • Add the roasted red peppers and stir into the sauce.
  • When ready to bake the eggs, break each egg into an individual cup. Make indents into the sauce for the eggs to sit in. We don't want the egg whites to spread across the surface of the sauce. Turn the heat up to get the sauce to have a light simmer.
  • Carefully pour each egg into each indent. Put the lid on the pan to cook the eggs. This should take just a few minutes.
  • We like our eggs with a runny yolk, but if you like the egg yolks harder, keep cooking until the yolks become lighter in colour and do not wobble when you move the pan.
  • Remove the pan from heat and to serve individually, carefully remove each egg 'pocket' with a large serving spoon onto the individual plates.
  • Drizzle some olive oil over your baguette slices, top the eggs and sauce with basil or parsley and the grated cheese.

Nutrition

Calories: 474kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 19g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 356mg | Sodium: 2366mg | Potassium: 1008mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 1434IU | Vitamin C: 47mg | Calcium: 232mg | Iron: 6mg