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Consider this: the best baked eggs never require an oven. During recipe development, I found that simply adding a lid produces a humid atmosphere to cook the top of the eggs, delivering a gently cooked delicately prepared egg with a tender white and a warm, runny yolk. The harsh, arid temperature of the oven is much more aggressive than steam, and has a tendency making dishes dry and harden the yolk. Here are two sauce options to get started, though feel free to experiment. Option one involves a straightforward golden coconut sauce, whereas the spicy sausage sauce puts a twist on eggs in purgatory, or simply put, eggs baked in spicy tomato sauce.

Turmeric Coconut Curry Baked Eggs (featured)

Prep 10 minutes
Cook Just under an hour
Yields 2

Olive oil
One medium onion, trimmed and minced
Salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
Fresh ginger root, grated ginger
Turmeric powder
Cumin seeds
6-8 curry leaves
Creamy coconut
Canned chickpeas
Fresh basil, and additional for topping
4 eggs
2 green finger chillies, julienned, for serving

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot on a medium-high heat. Drizzle olive oil, incorporate onions with some salt, fry until softened. Add the garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin seeds and curry leaves, allow to cook, stirring occasionally briefly, pour in creamy liquid including chickpea can contents. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer, and leave it to tick over for half an hour, until thick and golden. Add salt to taste, mix in fresh basil.

Use the back of a spoon forming small wells in the sauce, break eggs into each. Sprinkle the top of each egg with a little salt, cover the skillet, gently heat for two to three minutes, when whites are cooked and yolks warmed. Turn off stove, finish with a few extra basil leaves and thinly sliced finger chillies, then serve immediately.

Merguez Ragu with Tangy Peppers Steamed Eggs

Preparation Quick prep
Cooking time Under an hour
Serves Two

Oil
2 merguez-style lamb sausages
1 tbsp harissa
Toasted cumin
Garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
Canned tomatoes
Seasoning
Fresh eggs
Pickled peppers, roughly chopped
Chopped herbs, minced
Greek yogurt
1 lemon, sliced into wedges, to serve

Use a heavy pan over medium flame. Drizzle olive oil and, once it’s warm, remove the skins from the sausages and pinch small amounts into the skillet, almost like little meatballs. Turn down the heat, cook until golden, extracting spicy fats. Roll the merguez pieces around the pan during cooking, for even browning.

Once browned, incorporate harissa, cumin, and garlic to the pot, adjust to moderate flame sauté while stirring, for several minutes, until aromatic, and garlic softens. Add tomatoes, season with salt let it bubble. Reduce to low heat and leave to blip away for twenty minutes. The ragu will reduce, become richer and darker, while the oils split and rise to the top.

Use the back of a spoon forming wells across base, then crack an egg into each. Sprinkle the top of each egg with a little salt, then cover the pan with a lid. Cook for two to three minutes on low flame, until whites firm and yolks warmed.

Take off the heat, finish with chopped pickled peppers, herbs, yogurt dollop, and oil splash, with lemon on side.