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Let me explain: the most delicious egg dishes are made without baking. When testing these recipes, I found that simply adding a lid produces a humid atmosphere for cooking the egg tops, yielding tender perfectly poached egg featuring set whites and flowing center. The harsh, arid temperature from baking acts stronger versus moist heat, often leading to dry everything out and harden the yolk. Here are two sauce options as inspiration, but get creative. Option one involves a straightforward golden coconut sauce, while the merguez ragu is a riff on traditional spicy eggs, essentially, eggs baked in spicy tomato sauce.

Turmeric Coconut Curry Baked Eggs (shown above)

Preparation 10 minutes
Cook 55 min
Yields Two servings

Olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
Fine sea salt
Two garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
10g fresh ginger, grated ginger
Turmeric powder
Cumin seeds
6-8 curry leaves
200ml coconut milk
400g tin chickpeas
A few basil leaves, and additional for topping
Fresh eggs
2 green finger chillies, julienned, as garnish

Heat a cast-iron pan over medium-high flame. Add a shot of olive oil, incorporate onions seasoned with salt, fry until softened. Add the garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin seeds and curry leaves, let them sizzle, mixing now and then for three to four minutes, then tip in the coconut milk including chickpea can contents. Heat until boiling, lower heat to gentle cook, let it simmer about 35 minutes, until thickened and deep yellow in colour. Add salt to taste, then stir in the basil leaves.

With a spoon’s back to create four little pockets across the base, break eggs into each. Sprinkle the top of each egg with a little salt, place a lid on the pan, and cook on a low heat for two to three minutes, when whites are cooked with yolks still runny. Take off the heat, top with fresh herbs and sliced chilies, ready to enjoy.

Spicy Sausage Sauce with Tangy Peppers Steamed Eggs

Prep Quick prep
Cook Under an hour
Yields 2

Oil
Merguez sausages
Harissa paste
Toasted cumin
Garlic cloves, sliced thin
Canned tomatoes
Salt
Fresh eggs
1 handful pickled peppers, diced
Chopped herbs, diced
3 tbsp thick Greek yoghurt
1 lemon, wedge-cut, to serve

Heat a skillet over medium flame. Pour in oil when heated, remove the skins from the sausages forming small bits into the skillet, like mini balls. Turn down the heat, cook until golden, releasing flavorful oils. Move sausage pieces while cooking, so they colour on all sides.

When golden, mix in spices and garlic to the pot, adjust to moderate flame fry with mixing, for three to four minutes, when fragrant, and garlic softens. Tip in the tomatoes, add seasoning and bring to a simmer. Turn down the heat to low and leave to blip away for 20 minutes. Ragu thickens, intensify in color, with oils separating and surfacing.

With a spoon making indentations within sauce, then crack an egg into each. Sprinkle the top of each egg with a little salt, then cover the pan with a lid. Cook for two to three minutes gently, until whites firm with yolks runny.

Remove from heat, garnish with peppers, parsley, a blob of yoghurt, and oil splash, and serve with lemon wedges.