Lazy Man’s Shakshuka / Eggs in Purgatory
Recently, I've been making attempts at cooking Eggs in Purgatory (the Southern Italian version of Shakshuka). However, my first attempt left me faced with some pantry shortcomings: I had no fresh garlic, and no cans of whole tomatoes (tomato sauce or diced tomatoes don't compare with canned whole tomatoes, crushed with the hands). So, I looked around in our pantry, and found a jar of Pace Picante Sauce, which I substituted. It came out pretty well, and ended up being very quick and easy. Not to mention that it's a one pot dish, so cleanup was a breeze.It came out so well, that I decided to write this recipe down!
Servings: 2 people
Equipment
- 8 inch stainless steel skillet with lid (this size is ideal for just two people)
Ingredients
- ⅔ jar Pace Picante Sauce
- 2 large eggs (preferably local cage-free pasture-raised)
Crusty Bread for dipping
- 4 slices crusty bread such as pita, sourdough, baquette, or even sub rolls
Instructions
- Heat the skillet over medium low heat – I used 200℉ on my induction burner. (We don't want to burn the tomato mixture, we're just reducing it.)
- Add ⅔ of jar of Pace Picante Sauce to the skillet. Spread the sauce evenly around the surface of the skillet, and heat to a low bubble. (This is to reduce the sauce, to thicken it.)
- When the sauce is thickened sufficiently (use a spatula to move the sauce to one side; it should flow back into the space very slowly, if at all.), make two indentations in the sauce at opposite sides of the pan. and carefully crack an egg into each indentation, without breaking the yolk. (I like to crack each egg into a small bowl, to ensure a whole yolk.)
- Cover the skillet, and heat slowly, poaching the eggs in the sauce, until the yolks are 'jammy' – slightly runny.
- While the eggs are poaching, toast your chosen crusty bread so it's suitable for mopping up the egg yolks and sauce. Not too dark, and sufficiently crusty.
- Serve directly in the skillet, at the table, with the crusty bread on the side. Each person can mop up their own egg yolk and their share of the sauce with their crusty bread.
- Enjoy!
Notes
If you prefer, once you’ve cracked the eggs into the indentations, you can use a fork or a chopstick to mix the egg whites into the sauce (without disturbing the yolks). It might tidy up the presentation a bit.
