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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 produces a humid atmosphere to cook the top of the eggs, yielding tender delicately prepared egg featuring set whites and flowing center. Direct oven heat of the oven is much more aggressive compared to steaming, often leading to dehydrate ingredients and harden the yolk. Here are two sauce options as inspiration, though feel free to experiment. Option one involves a straightforward coconut turmeric blend, and the second offers a merguez ragu reimagines classic tomato-baked eggs, essentially, spicy tomato eggs.

Turmeric Coconut Curry Steamed Eggs (shown above)

Prep A quick 10 minutes
Cooking time 55 minutes
Yields Two people

Olive oil
1 onion, trimmed and minced
Sea salt
Two garlic cloves, minced garlic
10g fresh ginger, minced ginger
Golden spice
Toasted cumin
Curry leaves
200ml coconut milk
Chickpeas
Basil leaves, with more for garnish
Four eggs
2 green finger chillies, finely sliced, to serve

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot at moderate-high temperature. Pour in some oil, incorporate onions with some salt, and cook for five to six minutes. Mix in garlic, ginger, and spices, allow to cook, occasionally stirring for three to four minutes, add coconut milk along with chickpeas and liquid. Heat until boiling, then turn down to a simmer, let it simmer for half an hour, when sauce is rich and yellow. Add salt to taste, incorporate basil.

Use the back of a spoon to create four little pockets in the sauce, break eggs into each. Dust each egg with a little salt, cover the skillet, and cook on a low heat for a few minutes, until egg whites firm with yolks still runny. Take off the heat, garnish with more basil plus chili slices, then serve immediately.

Merguez Ragu and Pickled Peppers Steamed Eggs

Prep 10 min
Cooking time 45 min
Yields Two portions

Oil
2 merguez-style lamb sausages
Spicy paste
Toasted cumin
Garlic cloves, minced garlic
400g good-quality tinned tomatoes
Seasoning
Four eggs
Tangy peppers, coarsely cut
Chopped herbs, diced
3 tbsp thick Greek yoghurt
Fresh lemon, wedge-cut, for serving

Heat a skillet at moderate temperature. Drizzle olive oil once hot, take off sausage casings and pinch small amounts of the meat into the pan, like mini balls. Reduce heat, cook until golden, so it renders out all that spicy, flavour-packed fat. Move sausage pieces during cooking, to brown evenly.

When golden, mix in spices and garlic to the pot, turn up the heat to medium sauté while stirring, for several minutes, until the mix smells fragrant, and garlic softens. Pour in tomato contents, season with salt let it bubble. Lower to gentle simmer cooking gently for 20 minutes. The ragu will reduce, thicken and deepen in colour, with oils separating and surfacing.

Use the back of a spoon forming wells across base, break eggs in. 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 with yolks runny.

Turn off stove, top with pickled peppers, herbs, yogurt dollop, and oil splash, accompanied by lemon.