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Consider this: the best baked eggs never require an oven. During recipe development, realizing that using a cover creates a steamy environment to cook the top of the eggs, delivering a gently cooked soft-cooked egg with firm whites plus liquid yolk. Direct oven heat from baking is much more aggressive than steam, and has a tendency to dry everything out and overcook the yolk. I’ve given you two sauces as inspiration, encouraging customization. The first features an easy turmeric coconut curry, while the merguez ragu reimagines classic tomato-baked eggs, essentially, eggs baked in spicy tomato sauce.

Golden Coconut Sauce Steamed Eggs (pictured above)

Preparation 10 minutes
Cook 55 min
Serves Two people

Extra virgin oil
One medium onion, trimmed and minced
Sea salt
Two garlic cloves, minced garlic
10g fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
Turmeric powder
Toasted cumin
Aromatic leaves
Coconut milk
400g tin chickpeas
Basil leaves, plus extra to serve
Four eggs
Fresh chilies, finely sliced, for serving

Use a heavy skillet at moderate-high temperature. Pour in some oil, add the chopped onion and a pinch of salt, fry until softened. Incorporate aromatics and spices, leave to sizzle, occasionally stirring for three to four minutes, add coconut milk along with chickpeas and liquid. Heat until boiling, reduce to a simmer, and leave it to tick over for half an hour, until thickened and deep yellow in colour. Add salt to taste, incorporate basil.

Use the back of a spoon forming small wells in the sauce, break eggs into each. Season eggs with a little salt, then cover the pan with a lid, gently heat briefly, until egg whites firm with yolks still runny. Turn off stove, top with fresh herbs plus chili slices, then serve immediately.

Merguez Ragu with Tangy Peppers Steamed Eggs

Preparation 10 min
Cook 45 minutes
Yields Two

Olive oil
Spicy lamb sausages
1 tbsp harissa
Toasted cumin
2 garlic cloves, minced garlic
Tomato base
Seasoning
Four eggs
Tangy peppers, coarsely cut
1 small handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, minced
Greek yogurt
1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

Heat a skillet at moderate temperature. Pour in oil once hot, peel sausages and break off pieces into the skillet, resembling tiny meatballs. Lower temperature, then slowly brown the sausagemeat, extracting spicy fats. Roll the merguez pieces around the pan while cooking, to brown evenly.

Once browned, incorporate harissa, cumin, and garlic to the pan, turn up the heat to medium fry with mixing, for three to four minutes, until the mix smells fragrant, and garlic softens. Add tomatoes, salt to taste and bring to a simmer. Turn down the heat to low and simmer slowly about 20 minutes. Sauce will thicken, thicken and deepen in colour, with oils separating and surfacing.

Use the back of a spoon forming wells across base, then crack an egg into each. Season eggs lightly salted, cover skillet. Cook for two to three minutes gently, until whites firm and yolks warmed.

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