Eggs in purgatory is an unusual name for non-trivial food. Soft sunny yolks in a thick tomato sauce with chickpeas, spinach, and parmesan. Read some answers to the most popular questions and run to cook!
Any nutritionist will tell you that the day should start with a good and satisfying meal. And this dish includes not only eggs but also Chickpeas, tomato sauce, onions, parmesan, spinach, basil, and spices.
Don’t forget that you can prepare a super-nutritious breakfast not only for breakfast.
How to make Eggs in Purgatory
- Step 1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare the foods. Grate Parmesan, chop the garlic, dice the red onion. Wash the spinach, cut if the leaves are large. Drain the liquid from chickpeas. I prefer to cook chickpeas on my own. To do this, it must be soaked overnight in water and boiled for 2 hours in the morning.
- Step 2. Heat olive oil in a frying pan and add onions. Fry for 2-3 minutes until soft over medium heat.
- Step 3. Add chopped garlic and mix.
- Step 4. Add chickpeas, tomato sauce, salt, oregano, red pepper to the pan. Stir, let it boil and cook until thickened for about 3 minutes.
- Step 5. Add spinach to the pan in 2-3 sets. Shuffle to mix.
- Step 6. With the back of the spoon or spatula, make 4 indentations in the sauce. Break one egg into each.
- Step 7. Top with parmesan. Gently transfer the pan to the oven. Cook for 10-12 minutes or until the egg whites are ready and the yolks are still soft.
- Step 8. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with fresh basil and serve with sliced baguette.
What do eggs in purgatory mean?
There is a version from the Catholic faith in which the eggs in this dish are compared with souls and the tomato sauce around them in purgatory.
The basic idea is that “souls” are between heaven and hell. I don’t know which dreamer invented this metaphor, but at least it’s entertaining. On the net, you can meet the original of such a dish – shakshuka.
What are eggs in purgatory?
This is a hot dish of tomato sauce and chickpeas, combined with spinach.
The main characters, of course, eggs. It is important to catch the moment when the egg whites are ready and the yolks are still soft. Sprinkle all with parmesan and basil.
What to serve with eggs in purgatory?
This variation of eggs in purgatory with chickpeas is very satisfying and nutritious. So, it can go as an independent dish. A great addition would be a baguette, pita, or a crust of crispbread.
You can also serve it with vegetable slices.
How to serve eggs in purgatory?
There is no harm eating this dish directly from the pan! Believe me, it’s tastier!
Just be careful not to get burned. Besides, you can take a large spoon (something like a slotted spoon), and arrange it portionwise in deep plates. Try not to break the yolk. You must immerse there a piece of crispy baguette/
BAKING TIPS FOR Eggs in Purgatory
You can replace canned ready-made chickpeas with ordinary ones to prepare it, soak the chickpeas in water overnight. In the morning, boil in plenty of water for 2 hours. Drain excess liquid and use.
It is advisable to eat eggs all at once. And chickpeas in tomato sauce can be freely stored in the refrigerator for up to three days. Before serving, warm the sauce and add fresh eggs there.

Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small red onion — diced (about 1 cup)
- 3 cloves garlic — minced (about 1 tablespoon)
- 1 can reduced-sodium chickpeas — (15 ounces), rinsed and drained
- 1 jar good-quality tomato pasta sauce — (24 ounces)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon sweet red pepper
- 5 ounces baby spinach
- 4 large Fresh Eggs
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Chopped fresh basil
- Baguette slices — for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven and prepare the foods.
- Fry the onions in a frying pan in olive oil until soft, then add the garlic and mix.
- Add chickpeas, tomato sauce, salt, oregano and red pepper. Stir, cook 3 minutes until thickened.
- Add spinach and cook for another minute.
- Make 4 indentations in the sauce and break the eggs into it. Sprinkle with parmesan and transfer the pan to the oven. Cook 10 minutes until egg whites are ready. The yolks should remain soft.
- Remove from the oven, sprinkle with basil, serve with slices of baguette.
Notes
- You can use plain or frozen spinach. Cut large spinach leaves.
- Use a heat-resistant pan with a removable handle. We need this to continue cooking in the oven without difficulties.
- Sprinkle with parmesan all but the yolks. The melted pieces of parmesan on the yolks are tasty, but not very photogenic)
- Watch the temperature in the oven. Perhaps you should enable only the bottom heating mode. Otherwise, yolks can be cooked with egg whites.
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