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Consider this: the best baked eggs don’t ever hit the oven. Through culinary experiments, discovering that covering the pan produces a humid atmosphere that gently cooks the eggs, delivering a gently cooked soft-cooked egg featuring set whites plus liquid yolk. The harsh, arid temperature of the oven acts stronger compared to steaming, typically causing to dry everything out and overcook the yolk. I’ve given you two sauces as inspiration, though feel free to experiment. The first features an easy turmeric coconut curry, and the second offers a merguez ragu is a riff on classic tomato-baked eggs, or simply put, eggs baked in spicy tomato sauce.

Turmeric Coconut Curry Steamed Eggs (shown above)

Preparation A quick 10 minutes
Cooking time 55 min
Serves Two people

Olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
Sea salt
Two garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
Fresh ginger root, grated ginger
1 tbsp ground turmeric
Toasted cumin
Curry leaves
Creamy coconut
Chickpeas
Basil leaves, plus extra to serve
4 eggs
Fresh chilies, julienned, for serving

Use a heavy skillet over medium-high flame. Add a shot of olive oil, toss in the onion with some salt, sauté for several minutes. Mix in garlic, ginger, and spices, let them sizzle, occasionally stirring for a few minutes, pour in creamy liquid including chickpea can contents. Let it bubble, then turn down to a simmer, allow to cook slowly for 30-35 minutes, until thickened and deep yellow in colour. Adjust seasoning, mix in fresh basil.

Employ a utensil making four indentations in the sauce, break eggs into each. Season eggs with a little salt, then cover the pan with a lid, and cook on a low heat briefly, until egg whites firm and yolks warmed. Remove from heat, top with fresh herbs plus chili slices, ready to enjoy.

Merguez Ragu and Pickled Peppers Steamed Eggs

Preparation 10 minutes
Cooking time Under an hour
Yields 2

Oil
Merguez sausages
Spicy paste
Toasted cumin
2 garlic cloves, minced garlic
Tomato base
Fine sea salt
Fresh eggs
1 handful pickled peppers, diced
Chopped herbs, finely chopped
Creamy yogurt
1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

Heat a skillet at moderate temperature. Drizzle olive oil when heated, peel sausages and break off pieces of the meat into the pan, like mini balls. Turn down the heat, cook until golden, extracting spicy fats. Stir merguez during cooking, for even browning.

When golden, mix in spices and garlic to the pot, adjust to moderate flame fry with mixing, for several minutes, until the mix smells fragrant, and garlic softens. Pour in tomato contents, salt to taste heat to simmer. Turn down the heat to low cooking gently for 20 minutes. Ragu thickens, thicken and deepen in colour, as oils separate.

Employ utensil making indentations within sauce, add eggs individually. Dust with salt with a little salt, place lid on pan. Cook for two to three minutes over a low heat, until the whites are set and the yolks just warm.

Turn off stove, top with pickled peppers, herbs, yogurt dollop, and a drizzle of oil, with lemon on side.