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So, hear me out: the most delicious egg dishes don’t ever hit the oven. Through culinary experiments, realizing that using a cover generates steam for cooking the egg tops, resulting in perfectly cooked soft-cooked egg with firm whites plus liquid yolk. The intense, dry heat in conventional ovens acts stronger compared to steaming, often leading making dishes dry resulting in firm yolks. Here are two sauce options as a jumping-off point, encouraging customization. The first features an easy golden coconut sauce, and the second offers a merguez ragu puts a twist on classic tomato-baked eggs, or, to the likes of you and me, eggs cooked in zesty tomato base.

Turmeric Coconut Curry Steamed Eggs (pictured above)

Prep A quick 10 minutes
Cook 55 minutes
Yields Two servings

Extra virgin oil
1 onion, skinned and diced
Salt
Two garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
Fresh ginger root, minced ginger
Golden spice
Cumin seeds
Curry leaves
Coconut milk
400g tin chickpeas
Fresh basil, plus extra to serve
Four eggs
Green chilies, julienned, for serving

Heat a cast-iron pan over medium-high flame. Add a shot of olive oil, incorporate onions and a pinch of salt, sauté for several minutes. Incorporate aromatics and spices, allow to cook, stirring occasionally for a few minutes, pour in creamy liquid along with chickpeas and liquid. Heat until boiling, reduce to a simmer, and leave it to tick over about 35 minutes, until thick and golden. Adjust seasoning, incorporate basil.

Employ a utensil making four indentations across the base, break eggs into each. Dust each egg with salt, then cover the pan with a lid, gently heat for two to three minutes, until egg whites firm with yolks still runny. Remove from heat, garnish with more basil and sliced chilies, ready to enjoy.

Spicy Sausage Sauce with Tangy Peppers Baked Eggs

Preparation Quick prep
Cook 45 min
Yields 2

Oil
Merguez sausages
Spicy paste
Cumin seeds
2 garlic cloves, sliced thin
Canned tomatoes
Salt
4 eggs
1 handful pickled peppers, roughly chopped
Fresh parsley, finely chopped
Creamy yogurt
1 lemon, sliced into wedges, to serve

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot on a medium heat. 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, releasing flavorful oils. Roll the merguez pieces around the pan during cooking, to brown evenly.

Once browned, incorporate harissa, cumin, and garlic into the skillet, increase to medium heat sauté while stirring, briefly, until aromatic, and the garlic has lost its raw edge. Add tomatoes, add seasoning and bring to a simmer. Lower to gentle simmer and simmer slowly for 20 minutes. Ragu thickens, thicken and deepen in colour, as oils separate.

With a spoon making indentations in the sauce, add eggs individually. Sprinkle the top of each egg with a little salt, cover skillet. Heat for minutes gently, until whites firm and the yolks just warm.

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