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So, hear me out: the best baked eggs don’t ever hit the oven. Through culinary experiments, realizing that using a cover generates steam for cooking the egg tops, yielding tender soft-cooked egg with firm whites and a warm, runny yolk. The intense, dry heat in conventional ovens proves harsher versus moist heat, and has a tendency making dishes dry and overcook the yolk. Presenting two flavorful bases as inspiration, but get creative. Option one involves a straightforward golden coconut sauce, and the second offers a merguez ragu puts a twist on eggs in purgatory, or, to the likes of you and me, spicy tomato eggs.

Golden Coconut Sauce Steamed Eggs (shown above)

Prep 10 min
Cook 55 min
Yields Two servings

Olive oil
1 onion, skinned and diced
Sea salt
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
Fresh ginger root, minced ginger
Golden spice
Cumin seeds
Aromatic leaves
Coconut milk
Chickpeas
Basil leaves, with more for garnish
4 eggs
Fresh chilies, thinly cut, as garnish

Heat a cast-iron pan on a medium-high heat. Drizzle olive oil, toss in the onion seasoned with salt, fry until softened. Mix in garlic, ginger, and spices, leave to sizzle, occasionally stirring briefly, then tip in the coconut milk along with chickpeas and liquid. Let it bubble, lower heat to gentle cook, allow to cook slowly for 30-35 minutes, until thickened and deep yellow in colour. Add salt to taste, mix in fresh basil.

Use the back of a spoon to create four little pockets across the base, add eggs individually. Dust each egg with a little salt, cover the skillet, and cook on a low heat for a few minutes, until egg whites firm and the yolks just warm. Take off the heat, garnish with more basil plus chili slices, and serve.

Spicy Sausage Sauce and Pickled Peppers Baked Eggs

Preparation Quick prep
Cooking time Under an hour
Yields 2

Oil
Merguez sausages
1 tbsp harissa
Toasted cumin
Garlic cloves, minced garlic
400g good-quality tinned tomatoes
Salt
Fresh eggs
1 handful pickled peppers, coarsely cut
Chopped herbs, finely chopped
Creamy yogurt
1 lemon, sliced into wedges, to serve

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot over medium flame. Add two tablespoons of olive oil and, once it’s warm, peel sausages forming small bits of the meat into the pan, resembling tiny meatballs. Lower temperature, then slowly brown the sausagemeat, extracting spicy fats. Roll the merguez pieces around the pan during cooking, so they colour on all sides.

When golden, add the harissa, cumin seeds and sliced garlic to the pan, increase to medium heat sauté while stirring, for three to four minutes, until aromatic, with garlic cooked. Add tomatoes, add seasoning let it bubble. Lower to gentle simmer cooking gently about 20 minutes. Ragu thickens, become richer and darker, as oils separate.

With a spoon to create four little pockets across base, add eggs individually. Season eggs lightly salted, place lid on pan. Heat for minutes on low flame, when eggs set and the yolks just warm.

Take off the heat, garnish with peppers, herbs, yogurt dollop, and a drizzle of oil, with lemon on side.