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So, hear me out: the best baked eggs don’t ever hit the oven. When testing these recipes, I found that simply adding a lid generates steam for cooking the egg tops, yielding tender perfectly poached egg featuring set whites and a warm, runny yolk. The intense, dry heat from baking 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. The first features an easy coconut turmeric blend, whereas the spicy sausage sauce puts a twist on classic tomato-baked eggs, or, to the likes of you and me, spicy tomato eggs.

Turmeric Coconut Curry Steamed Eggs (shown above)

Preparation 10 minutes
Cook 55 min
Serves Two servings

Extra virgin oil
1 onion, trimmed and minced
Fine sea salt
Two garlic cloves, minced garlic
Fresh ginger root, peeled and finely chopped
Turmeric powder
½ tbsp cumin seeds
Aromatic leaves
Coconut milk
Canned chickpeas
Basil leaves, with more for garnish
4 eggs
Fresh chilies, finely sliced, as garnish

Heat a cast-iron pan over medium-high flame. Add a shot of olive oil, incorporate onions and a pinch of salt, fry until softened. Incorporate aromatics and spices, allow to cook, occasionally stirring for three to four minutes, pour in creamy liquid including chickpea can contents. Heat until boiling, lower heat to gentle cook, allow to cook slowly for half an hour, until thick and golden. Add salt to taste, then stir in the basil leaves.

Employ a utensil forming small wells within the sauce, then crack an egg into each. Season eggs with a little salt, cover the skillet, gently heat for a few minutes, until egg whites firm and yolks warmed. Turn off stove, garnish with more basil and sliced chilies, ready to enjoy.

Merguez Ragu and Pickled Peppers Baked Eggs

Prep 10 min
Cooking time 45 min
Yields Two portions

Olive oil
Merguez sausages
Spicy paste
Toasted cumin
Garlic cloves, minced garlic
Canned tomatoes
Fine sea salt
Fresh eggs
Tangy peppers, diced
Fresh parsley, minced
Creamy yogurt
1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot at moderate temperature. Add two tablespoons of olive oil and, once it’s warm, take off sausage casings and break off pieces into the skillet, resembling tiny meatballs. Turn down the heat, cook until golden, so it renders out all that spicy, flavour-packed fat. Stir merguez during cooking, so they colour on all sides.

After browning, add the harissa, cumin seeds and sliced garlic into the skillet, turn up the heat to medium fry with mixing, for several minutes, when fragrant, and garlic softens. Add tomatoes, add seasoning and bring to a simmer. Reduce to low heat and leave to blip away about 20 minutes. The ragu will reduce, become richer and darker, with oils separating and surfacing.

With a spoon forming wells in the sauce, break eggs in. Dust with salt with a little salt, then cover the pan with a lid. Cook for two to three minutes over a low heat, when eggs set and the yolks just warm.

Remove from heat, top with pickled peppers, parsley and yogurt, and a drizzle of oil, with lemon on side.