Brunch Series, Recipe #2: Uova in purgatorio
Let’s get straight to it, shall we? Italy doesn’t do brunch. Which isn’t for lack of trying, of course. Italy thinks it can do brunch, but nearly always misses the mark. Restaurants and cafes advertising brunch here in Rome usually offer a buffet with meat, vegetables, and pasta — not brunch items— at a slightly earlier lunchtime, around noon. There’s the convivial aspect, sure — meeting with friends on a lazy Sunday morning — but there are no pancakes, eggs, or bacon to be found. The few places in the Eternal City who claim to do American-style breakfast/brunch also fall short. A fairly successful chain here in Rome (B***** H****) once served me a bagel dusted with powdered sugar and topped with strawberries rather than slathering it with cream cheese and topping it with smoked salmon. Which is fine! Italy does everything else right when it comes to food, right? And anyways, I’m quite happy to host my own brunches (if you want something done right, do it yourself).
So no: Italy does not do brunch, much less have dishes suited for it. Kind of.
I usually try and offer a good balance of Italian/American recipes on the blog, but had sort of resigned to myself to the fact that October would be a month of all American recipes, given its theme. Until it came to me: Uova in purgatorio.
First things first: the name uova in purgatorio translates to eggs in purgatory, referring to the fact that eggs are suspended in the tomato sauce they are poached in, or rather in between, not quite in hell but not quite in heaven either (poor, repenting eggs!) It’s a Neapolitan dish, but interestingly enough, also reminiscent of North African shakshuka — indeed, much of my eggs-in-purgatory research led me to recipes for uova in purgatorio described as Italian Shakshuka (long lost cousins, perhaps?) In any case, U-i-P makes for a lovely brunch dish — place a pan on the table and let your lucky friends dig in — and a nifty way to incorporate an Italian recipe into this month’s American-ish theme. Spoiler: November will be full of Thanksgiving recipes, so might as well get the Italian dishes in while I can, no?
So! The star of this dish is the tomato sauce, a harmonious party of garlicky and spicy and fragrant all at once, with distinctly cozy undertones thanks to a pinch of rosemary. It is richer and more nuanced than you’re average tomato sauce, and the eggs bubble and poach happily there, cooked until the whites are just set and the yolks are still soft. A generous grating of Parmesan over the top only improves matters, as Parmesan does; a garnish of fresh parsley, confetti-like, makes the finished dish all that more festive and pretty. A few slices of toasted, olive oil-y bread served alongside is mandatory: these are your tools to mop up every last bit of yolk and drop of sauce.
Bottom line: if this is purgatory, it’s not so bad at all. In fact, there’s quite a good argument to stick around.
A couple of notes: Brunch aside, it also makes a lovely quick lunch or weeknight dinner, and is relatively healthy, too. The recipe I landed on comes from the NYT, which adds a bit of variety in terms of the herbs you use; I opted for rosemary, but you could also use basil instead. The NYT recipe also adds into two anchovies in the initial stages of the recipe, melting them into the olive oil alongside the garlic and red pepper flakes. I skipped them because I didn’t have any on hand, but feel free to add them if you’d like.
Looking for other brunch/breakfast recipes? Click here.
UOVA IN PURGATORIO
Serves 4. Recipe from NYT Recipes.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more for drizzling on toast
2 large cloves garlic
Pinch of red-pepper flakes, more to taste and for serving
1 (28-ounce, 800 grams) can diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 large sprig of fresh rosemary, or a pinch of dried rosemary
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
6 eggs
Sliced crusty bread, for serving
Small handful chopped basil or parsley, for garnish
Directions:
1.) In a large skillet with a lid, heat oil over medium heat. Add the garlic cloves and red-pepper flakes and cook just until the garlic turns golden brown at the edges, about 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, salt, pepper and rosemary, and turn the heat to medium-low.
2.) Simmer until the tomatoes break down and thicken into a sauce, 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in Parmesan, butter, and more salt and red-pepper flakes to taste.
4.) Using the back of a spoon, make 6 divots into the tomato sauce, then crack an egg into each divot. Cover the pan and let cook until the eggs are set to taste, about 3 minutes for runny yolks. (If the pan is not covered, the eggs won't cook through, so don't skip that step.)
4.) While the eggs are cooking, toast bread in a toaster or under the broiler. Drizzle the warm toast with oil, and sprinkle with salt.
5.) To serve, sprinkle eggs with more Parmesan and chopped herbs, then spoon onto plates or into shallow bowls. Serve with toast and pass pepper flakes at the table.
