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Let me explain: the most delicious egg dishes never require an oven. Through culinary experiments, I found that simply adding a lid creates a steamy environment to cook the top of the eggs, yielding tender soft-cooked egg with firm whites and flowing center. The harsh, arid temperature from baking proves harsher than steam, and has a tendency to dry everything out and overcook the yolk. I’ve given you two sauces as inspiration, encouraging customization. Option one involves a straightforward turmeric coconut curry, and the second offers a merguez ragu is a riff on classic tomato-baked eggs, essentially, eggs baked in spicy tomato sauce.

Turmeric Coconut Curry Baked Eggs (pictured above)

Prep A quick 10 minutes
Cook Just under an hour
Yields Two people

Extra virgin oil
1 onion, skinned and diced
Fine sea salt
Two garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
10g fresh ginger, grated ginger
Turmeric powder
½ tbsp cumin seeds
Aromatic leaves
Coconut milk
400g tin chickpeas
Fresh basil, and additional for topping
4 eggs
Green chilies, finely sliced, as garnish

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot over medium-high flame. Drizzle olive oil, toss in the onion and a pinch of salt, sauté for several minutes. Incorporate aromatics and spices, allow to cook, mixing now and then for three to four minutes, add coconut milk and the chickpeas and their tin liquid. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer, allow to cook slowly for 30-35 minutes, when sauce is rich and yellow. Adjust seasoning, incorporate basil.

With a spoon’s back forming small wells across the base, break eggs into each. Sprinkle the top of each egg with salt, place a lid on the pan, and cook on a low heat for two to three minutes, until egg whites firm with yolks still runny. Remove from heat, top with fresh herbs plus chili slices, and serve.

Merguez Ragu with Tangy Peppers Baked Eggs

Preparation 10 min
Cook 45 minutes
Serves Two portions

Oil
Spicy lamb sausages
1 tbsp harissa
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 garlic cloves, sliced thin
Canned tomatoes
Salt
4 eggs
Tangy peppers, diced
1 small handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Creamy yogurt
1 lemon, sliced into wedges, for serving

Heat a skillet on a medium heat. Drizzle olive oil once hot, take off sausage casings and break off pieces into the skillet, like mini balls. Reduce heat, then slowly brown the sausagemeat, releasing flavorful oils. Move sausage pieces while cooking, for even browning.

Once browned, add the harissa, cumin seeds and sliced garlic to the pan, adjust to moderate flame and cook, stirring, for three to four minutes, until aromatic, and garlic softens. Pour in tomato contents, salt to taste let it bubble. Reduce to low heat and leave to blip away about 20 minutes. Sauce will thicken, become richer and darker, as oils separate.

Employ utensil making indentations within sauce, add eggs individually. Sprinkle the top of each egg lightly salted, then cover the pan with a lid. Cook for two to three minutes over a low heat, until the whites are set with yolks runny.

Turn off stove, garnish with peppers, parsley and yogurt, and a drizzle of oil, with lemon on side.