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Consider this: the most delicious egg dishes are made without baking. During recipe development, discovering that covering the pan produces a humid atmosphere to cook the top of the eggs, yielding tender soft-cooked egg with firm whites and a warm, runny yolk. The harsh, arid temperature of the oven acts stronger than steam, often leading making dishes dry and overcook the yolk. Here are two sauce options as a jumping-off point, but get creative. Option one involves a straightforward coconut turmeric blend, whereas the spicy sausage sauce is a riff on classic tomato-baked eggs, or, to the likes of you and me, spicy tomato eggs.

Turmeric Coconut Curry Steamed Eggs (featured)

Prep 10 minutes
Cook Just under an hour
Serves Two servings

Olive oil
1 onion, trimmed and minced
Sea salt
2 garlic cloves, minced garlic
10g fresh ginger, minced ginger
Golden spice
Cumin seeds
6-8 curry leaves
200ml coconut milk
400g tin chickpeas
Fresh basil, plus extra to serve
Four eggs
Fresh chilies, thinly cut, as garnish

Heat a cast-iron pan on a medium-high heat. Pour in some oil, toss in the onion with some salt, and cook for five to six minutes. Incorporate aromatics and spices, allow to cook, occasionally stirring briefly, add coconut milk including chickpea can contents. Bring to a boil, lower heat to gentle cook, and leave it to tick over about 35 minutes, when sauce is rich and yellow. Add salt to taste, incorporate basil.

Employ a utensil making four indentations in the sauce, then crack an egg into each. Season eggs lightly salted, place a lid on the pan, gently heat for a few minutes, until the whites are set with yolks still runny. Remove from heat, garnish with more basil and thinly sliced finger chillies, then serve immediately.

Spicy Sausage Sauce with Tangy Peppers Baked Eggs

Prep 10 minutes
Cooking time 45 minutes
Serves Two portions

Olive oil
Merguez sausages
Harissa paste
Cumin seeds
Garlic cloves, minced garlic
Canned tomatoes
Salt
4 eggs
1 handful pickled peppers, coarsely cut
Fresh parsley, diced
Creamy yogurt
Fresh lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

Use a heavy pan over medium flame. Pour in oil and, once it’s warm, remove the skins from the sausages forming small bits of the meat into the pan, resembling tiny meatballs. Turn down the heat, brown the meat slowly, extracting spicy fats. Stir merguez during cooking, to brown evenly.

When golden, mix in spices and garlic to the pot, adjust to moderate flame sauté while stirring, for several minutes, until aromatic, with garlic cooked. Pour in tomato contents, season with salt let it bubble. Lower to gentle simmer and leave to blip away for twenty minutes. The ragu will reduce, become richer and darker, while the oils split and rise to the top.

Use the back of a spoon forming wells in the sauce, add eggs individually. Sprinkle the top of each egg with a little salt, then cover the pan with a lid. Cook for two to three minutes on low flame, until whites firm and yolks warmed.

Take off the heat, top with pickled peppers, parsley and yogurt, and a drizzle of oil, with lemon on side.