Eggs in Purgatory with Italian Sausage
When you don't know what to make for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner, Eggs in Purgatory, a southern Italian classic is the perfect solution! Eggs are gently poached in a lively tomato sauce with Italian sausage and vegetables for an easy meal you'll put on repeat!
Servings: 4
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 links hot Italian sausage casings removed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil plus more for toasting the bread if desired
- 1 small fennel bulb thinly sliced vertically
- 1/2 small onion finely chopped (approximately 1 cup)
- 1/2 small green bell pepper chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 can (28-ounce) whole tomatoes preferably San Marzano (Roma, baby Roma or cherry), hand crushed or chopped with kitchen shears
- 1 tablespoon Calabrian hot chili paste or 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley divided
- Salt to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 4 large eggs (or up to 6)
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Crusty Italian-style bread optional, brushed with olive oil and lightly toasted in a nonstick skillet
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Place the sausage in a heavy 12-inch ovenproof skillet. Heat to medium and cook, stirring to break it up as you go for 4-5 minutes or until browned and cooked through. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and wipe out the pan.
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat in the skillet used to cook the sausage. Add the fennel, onion and green bell pepper and cook 5-6 minutes or until the vegetables are softened.
- Add the garlic and cook 10-15 seconds or until fragrant.
- Add the tomatoes with all the juice along with the hot chili paste or crushed red pepper flakes and bring to a simmer. Cook 10-12 minutes or until sauce is thickened and reduced. Take off the heat.
- Stir in half the parsley, taste for seasoning and add salt and black pepper to taste.
- Make four wells in the tomato/sausage/vegetable mixture. Break each egg into a small bowl before placing in the wells to ensure there are no shells or anything else you want to remove.
- Bake 8-12 minutes depending upon how you prefer your eggs.
- Sprinkle with the remaining parsley and the Parmesan cheese.
- Serve immediately with lightly toasted crusty bread.
Notes
You can fit up to six eggs in the skillet.
TIP:
- When cracking an egg, always crack the egg on a FLAT surface such as your countertop or cutting board, never on the edge of a bowl. Doing that will cause an indentation in the egg which can send a piece or pieces of the shell into the egg. Just give it a good, decisive tap that’s neither too hard nor too gentle.
- The tomato, meat, and vegetable mixture can be made 1-2 days ahead of time. Store in a non-reactive container.
- Bring to a simmer on the stovetop before adding the eggs. Bake as directed.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 | Calories: 384kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 233mg | Sodium: 615mg | Potassium: 533mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 758IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 154mg | Iron: 2mg