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Turkish inspired Eggs in Purgatory with Chile Butter and Feta. Perfectly soft-cooked eggs simmered in a simple, slightly spicy, tomato sauce with garlic, herbs, and lemon. Top this one-skillet recipe with fresh herbs, plenty of feta cheese, and serve with olive oil toasted bread for dipping. It’s the simplest recipe that doubles as both a mouth-watering breakfast and a quick and easy dinner. Bonus? This takes no more than thirty minutes to prepare, is healthy, and delicious.
Breaking away from the usual Friday dessert and instead sharing a savory breakfast (or breakfast for dinner) recipe. Not going to lie, it feels weird to not share something sweet today, but with a new year comes transitions. One of my “goals” for the year is to share more savory breakfast/brunch recipes with you all. It’s true that I love a sweet breakfast, but I also love a savory egg dish. And since many of you have been asking for more savory breakfast recipes, I’m making an effort to share them this year!
So, today we have eggs. Which I figured would be perfect for your weekend brunching, or maybe even a late-night Friday dinner (my preference actually). Either way, we have a very delicious and easy recipe here, and I’m very excited to share it.
If you’re looking for a dessert, please check out Tuesday’s homemade Twix bars post. You will LOVE them and they’ll be fun to make over the weekend to satisfy your chocolate fix. If you love a good brunch dish…or just love eggs…let’s talk about these Turkish inspired Eggs in Purgatory. Because even though these eggs are definitely not a chocolatey dessert, they’re still insanely GOOD.
First, exactly what are Eggs in Purgatory?
The dish comes from southern Italy and is simply eggs simmered in a spicy tomato sauce. Recipes vary slightly, but most use olive oil, red pepper flakes, parmesan cheese, and eggs. It’s so SIMPLE, but when served with crusty bread, so delicious.
So what does the “purgatory” part refer to? According to the New York Times, it’s unclear whether purgatory refers to the bubbling red tomato sauce the eggs are poached in, or the fiery red pepper flakes that the sauce is hinted with. Either way, the dish is really just eggs in tomato sauce all simmered together in one skillet. However, my version is slightly different, as it’s made with a fresh Turkish twist.
PS. If anyone knows the full story, please…do tell!
Here is how to make Eggs in Purgatory.
I like to add a touch more flavor to my eggs, so start by making the chile butter…inspired by Turkish style eggs. The key to Turkish eggs is the butter that’s spooned over them. Mine is a mix of salted butter, olive oil, chili flakes, sweet paprika, and sesame seeds. Pretty simple, but it really packs in the flavor. It might just be one of the best sauces you can spoon over eggs.
Once the butter is made, use that same skillet to cook the eggs. Simply cook some garlic in olive oil, add red peppers flakes, and then crushed fire-roasted tomatoes. Then crack the eggs right into the sauce and simmer until the eggs are perfectly cooked to your liking. For me that means a runny yolk.
While the eggs are cooking, toast up a few slices of really good crusty bread. I used the no-knead bread recipe from the Half Baked Harvest Super Simple cookbook, but any crusty bread will do. I like to toast the bread in a skillet, then drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with flaky seas salt. SO. GOOD.
Toss together a couple handfuls of your favorite tender herbs. I love using fresh cilantro and dill, but parsley and basil would also be great.
As soon as the eggs are ready, immediately top them with crumbled feta, herbs, and that chile butter. Then serve with bread…nothing not to love.
Soo, with that, do we all know what we’re making this weekend? Usually it’s french toast or a Dutch baby over here, but since we’re in the middle of Healthy January, this is a much more vegetable-focused brunch! No complaints.
It’s surely not traditional Eggs in Purgatory, but it may just be better…at least I think so. It’s all about the toppings, the butter, the feta, the herbs…game-changers.
If you don’t love spicy food, that’s totally fine. Just reduce or even omit the red pepper flakes used throughout the recipe. You will lose a bit of flavor, but the feta cheese and fresh herbs will make up for it just fine.
Lastly? This makes for the most perfect one am meal or hangover breakfast. So easy, but so good. Just don’t skip the crusty olive oil toasted bread. And bonus points to any of you who also sprinkle that bread with flaky sea salt…it’s the best!
If you make these Eggs in Purgatory, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Eggs in Purgatory with Chile Butter and Feta
Ingredients
Chile Sesame Butter
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon raw sesame seeds
Eggs in Purgatory
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Zest and juice from 1 lemon
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed fire roasted tomatoes
- kosher salt
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 4-6 large eggs
- 1 cup tender herbs such as cilantro, parsley, basil, and dill
- 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
- sliced crusty bread, for serving
Instructions
- 1. To make the butter. In a large skillet melt together the butter, red pepper flakes, paprika, and sesame seeds. Cook until the butter is browning, 3-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour the butter into a bowl. 2. To make the eggs. Return the skillet to the stove. Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook 3-5 minutes, until the garlic is fragrant and turning golden brown. Stir in the red pepper flakes and lemon zest, cook another minute. Pour in the tomatoes and season with salt. Stir in the spinach. Turn the heat to medium-low. Simmer, uncovered until the tomatoes thicken into a sauce, 10-12 minutes. 3. Using the back of a spoon, make 4-6 divots into the sauce, then crack an egg into each divot. Cover and cook until the eggs are set to your liking, 2 to 3 minutes for runnier yolks.4. To serve, crumble the feta over the eggs. Top with mixed herbs, lemon juice, and spoon over the chile butter. Serve with plenty of toasted bread.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Made these with whatever I had on hand and everyone LOVED them! They said they would’ve paid @ $15 for a dish like that at a restaurant
Wow that is so amazing! I am so glad you all enjoyed this one! Thank you! xTieghan
I used ricotta instead of feta (because that’s what I had on hand), but this was easy and delicious. Will definitely make again.
Thank you so much!! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Amazing dish! I made it for my family and everyone absolutely loved it. I shared the recipe with a co-worker and he and his wife loved it as well – they made it for dinner along with a salad. Yummmm!
Wow that is so amazing to hear! Thank you for trying this Nicole! xTieghan
My husband and I made this last night for dinner and WOW! This is amazing! So flavorful and easy to make. It is definitely in our ‘make again’ rotation. We claimed it to be ‘company worthy’ – the highest praise we give! Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes!
Thank you Talia! I am so glad this turned out so well! xTieghan
This. Was. So. Good! I always find myself unsure of what to do with eggs (we get the most delicious farm-fresh eggs from my mother-in-law, but sometimes we are overwhelmed with what to do with them all)! This was the perfect cozy Saturday night meal. So easy to make, so flavourful.. I may make it again tonight!
Amazing!! I am so glad you loved this recipe Liz! Thank you! xTieghan
This recipe looks so good! Is there a replacement for the fire roasted tomatoes? Not sure if it can be found where I live, only the normal crushed tomatoes.
Hi Veronica! You can use regular crushed tomatoes. That will be great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
WOW!!! I make a lot of your recipes but this one was especially good. So many flavors and warm/comforting but fresh with the herbs. I added tarragon too because I love it and it was amazing!! Will def be repeating this one. Thank you, Tieghan!
Thank you Hilary!! I am so glad this one turned out amazing for you! xTieghan
Would it be criminal to add some spinach to this? And if not, would I need to cook the spinach separately and then add to the sauce to avoid making the sauce too runny?
Hi Elizabeth, there is already spinach in this recipe. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
I just made this and it was a delicious start to a snowy Saturday morning. We had leftover garlic naan (your recipe) from last night and it was a perfect side! Thanks for making our January more yummy with all your recipes. Keep them coming!
Thank you so much Brittany! I am so glad this recipe turned out so well for you! Perfect for a snowy morning, YES! xTieghan
This looks amazing. Will I loose much flavour if I use regular crushed tomatoes and not the fire roasted ones? I don’t think I’ve ever seen them in my country :/
HI Bara! Regular tomatoes will be great too! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
This is called Shakshuka. Purgatory not a thing here.
Either way! I hope you try this! xTieghan
Eggs in Purgatory is one of my ALL-FAVORITE brunch/breakfast recipes. What a GREAT idea about the chile sesame seed butter – such a nice compliment to the dish. Thanks so much for sharing.
Thank you so much Linger! I hope you LOVE this one! xTieghan
These look really good. I am confused about “chile” butter, as opposed to “chili,” since Chile is the name of the country. But when I Googled it, everyone from Bon Appetit to the NY Times has it spelled “chile” so I guess it’s just a new spelling to me. Actually, I have seen many similar recipes but yours is the first I’ve been tempted to make. You do beautiful work.
Thank you Terry! I am so glad you loved this recipe! xTieghan
Yay! I needed a simple dinner for tonight and this looks like a winner, thank you!! I will be making your Twix bars tomorrow too:) I absolutely love your recipes and have been following along and cooking with you for 6 years now. I also started Drinking hot chocolate instead of coffee in the mornings and it’s AMAZING!! Thanks for sharing that tidbit it’s exactly what I needed 🙂 thanks for everything you share with us ❤️
Oh wow I am so glad you are still loving my recipes!! I hope you LOVE the twix bars and so glad you loved this Danielle! Thank you! xTieghan
YES, please!!!! They look beyond delicious.
Thank you Ruth! xTieghan