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Let me explain: the best baked eggs don’t ever hit the oven. Through culinary experiments, I found that simply adding a lid creates a steamy environment for cooking the egg tops, yielding tender delicately prepared egg with firm whites plus liquid yolk. The intense, dry heat of the oven acts stronger compared to steaming, and has a tendency to dehydrate ingredients and overcook the yolk. Presenting two flavorful bases as inspiration, encouraging customization. One is a super-simple turmeric coconut curry, while the merguez ragu is a riff on eggs in purgatory, or, to the likes of you and me, eggs baked in spicy tomato sauce.

Turmeric Coconut Curry Steamed Eggs (pictured above)

Preparation 10 min
Cook Just under an hour
Yields Two people

Extra virgin oil
One medium onion, skinned and diced
Fine sea salt
Two garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
10g fresh ginger, minced ginger
Golden spice
½ tbsp cumin seeds
Curry leaves
Coconut milk
400g tin chickpeas
Fresh basil, and additional for topping
Fresh eggs
Green chilies, thinly cut, as garnish

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot over medium-high flame. Drizzle olive oil, add the chopped onion and a pinch of salt, sauté for several minutes. Mix in garlic, ginger, and spices, allow to cook, occasionally stirring briefly, add coconut milk including chickpea can contents. Let it bubble, lower heat to gentle cook, and leave it to tick over for half an hour, when sauce is rich and yellow. Season with salt, then stir in the basil leaves.

Employ a utensil making four indentations in the sauce, break eggs into each. Dust each egg with salt, cover the skillet, simmer over low heat for a few minutes, until egg whites firm and yolks warmed. Turn off stove, top with fresh herbs plus chili slices, and serve.

Spicy Sausage Sauce with Tangy Peppers Baked Eggs

Prep 10 minutes
Cook Under an hour
Serves 2

Oil
Merguez sausages
1 tbsp harissa
Cumin seeds
2 garlic cloves, sliced thin
Tomato base
Fine sea salt
Four eggs
Pickled peppers, diced
1 small handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, diced
Creamy yogurt
1 lemon, sliced into wedges, for serving

Use a heavy pan over medium flame. Add two tablespoons of olive oil when heated, take off sausage casings forming small bits adding to pan, resembling tiny meatballs. Lower temperature, brown the meat slowly, extracting spicy fats. Roll the merguez pieces around the pan while cooking, to brown evenly.

Once browned, mix in spices and garlic to the pot, increase to medium heat fry with mixing, for several minutes, until the mix smells fragrant, and garlic softens. Tip in the tomatoes, add seasoning and bring to a simmer. Reduce to low heat cooking gently about 20 minutes. Sauce will thicken, become richer and darker, with oils separating and surfacing.

Use the back of a spoon to create four little pockets within sauce, break eggs in. Season eggs with salt, then cover the pan with a lid. Cook for two to three minutes gently, until the whites are set with yolks runny.

Take off the heat, top with pickled peppers, parsley, a blob of yoghurt, plus oil drizzle, accompanied by lemon.