Eggs in Purgatory

Are eggs in purgatory for breakfast, lunch or dinner? Well that decision is up to you. For me this is one of my quintessential comfort foods growing up. While it may seem strange to have eggs for dinner we used to call this an upside down day.  Sometimes it was waffles and ice cream on a summer evening, but most often it was eggs in purgatory with a loaf of fresh Italian bread. This is a great meal when you don't have much time to cook. It can also be the centerpiece of a brunch featuring a host of Italian cheeses and dried sausages.

Ingredients

1 Cup of Marinara Sauce

5 Lg. Pasteurized Eggs *

Freshly Grated Black Pepper

Grated Parmesan or Locatelli/Romano Cheese

Optional

Loaf of good crusty Italian Bread

Hash Browns

Heat a large frying pan over medium low heat and add the marinara sauce. Heat the “gravy” until it starts to simmer. Yes I said “gravy”, Italians call tomato sauce “gravy”.

Do not let the marinara boil.  When the sauce starts to bubble add one egg to the gravy and stir it around with a spoon or spatula until there are no more streaks of egg in the marinara. The egg will flavor the gravy. Carefully add the other eggs, one at a time, to the simmering gravy without breaking the yolks.  Top the eggs with a few grinds of freshly grated black pepper. Cook until the eggs are almost cooked and carefully flipping the eggs over (like in eggs over easy) to cook the tops.  Using a spatula, remove 2 eggs to each plate and top with half of the marinara sauce.  Grate some parmesan or locatelli/romano cheese over the top of the eggs.

Serve with lots of Italian bread or some hash brown potatoes.

* Why Pasteurized Eggs? There have been so many salmonella scares lately in the US that I do not like to take chances when I cook eggs with a runny yolk.  If you cook your eggs with a fully cooked yolk you can use regular eggs, otherwise I use pasteurized eggs so that the yolk can comingle with the gravy – yummm.

To print a copy of this recipe go to Eggs in Purgatory.