Eggs in purgatory (For Tom)

I used to work as a waitress in an Italian restaurant in Montclair, NJ. I would joke around with the chef, Alan Gaeta, and watch over his shoulder as he made his spectacular soups, panna cotta, semolina gnocchi and eggs in purgatory. On the menu he called it grandma's eggs in purgatory which lends to how you feel when you're eating such a dish. There is a hint of it being so good that it must have been made with experience, a gentle hand and only loving thoughts for the eater. 

To be honest, I've bastardized poor grandma Gaeta's eggs in purgatory. 

Although it wouldn't have taken a whole lot of time I did not make the sauce. 

I know. I'm terrible, right?

Homemade tomato sauce is fun and altogether simple but sometimes a person just wants to eat without so much fuss. Of course this would be a wonderful thing to do with leftover homemade marinara if you have it. I am a serious advocate for all things homemade but some people take it too seriously. 

If you're a home cook and want breakfast/brunch/lunch that looks extravagant, has all the comforts of mashed potatoes with gravy and took all of 15 minutes, well, consider the help from a jar. 

Pardon the picture quality. Iphones are pretty good but not SLR's

Eggs in Purgatory

Serves 2

1/2 Jar of tomato sauce. *

1 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

2 crushed cloves of garlic. (when using store bought tomato sauce I always add one fresh ingredient.)

4 large eggs

1 Tbsp of grated Parmesan

Crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper to taste. 

In a stainless steel or cast iron pan, heat the olive oil on medium heat.

Add the garlic and cook through. 

Add the tomato sauce and wait until the sauce is at an even boil. Remember, the sauce has to be hot enough to poach the eggs.

Crack the eggs as close to the tomato sauce as you can and let boil until the bottoms of the eggs begin to turn white. 

Evenly coat the eggs with the Parmesan and the crushed red pepper if you desire.

Then loosely cover the sauce and eggs with a lid.

Cook until you reach your desired yoke consistency.

Serve on top of toasted English muffins as I did or if you're planning ahead get a really nice fresh loaf of bread to really wow.

*For the sauce I used Bertolli's Olive oil and garlic sauce. I like it for this purpose because of how thin it is initially so it takes well to being boiled and thickens nicely.

Buen Provecho!