Meredith Deeds | (TNS) The Minnesota Star Tribune When I’m looking for a brothy, eggy dish, I typically have turned to shakshuka. The North African dish has become beloved all over the globe — and certainly in my kitchen — consisting of stewed tomatoes infused with spices and peppers. Eggs are nestled in the tomatoes and gently cooked until the whites are set, but the yolks are still runny.
Recently, while researching an Italian dish called “fish in crazy water,” in which a white, flaky fish is poached in a spicy broth, I stumbled onto another similar dish: Eggs in Purgatory. First, can we acknowledge the Italians’ gift for naming a plate of food? Had I created this genius dish, I would have likely named it something boring like “eggs poached in spicy tomato broth.” Yawn.
While my title for the dish would have made it clear what to expect, the Italians tell the tale. Being slowly cooked in a bubbly, red tomato sauce which just happens to be seasoned with fiery red pepper flakes doesn’t sound like it turns out too well for the eggs. It does, however, turn out extremely well for anyone lucky enough to be eating those eggs, especially when armed with a crusty piece of bread.
If any dish deserves to be swiped with a piece of toast or a hunk of focaccia, it’s this one. The action of bread dipping not only allows you to sop up every drop of the addictive sauce — it also encourages the mingling of the sauce and egg yolk, which adds a silky richness. Because it�.