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So, hear me out: the best baked eggs never require an oven. Through culinary experiments, I found that simply adding a lid creates a steamy environment to cook the top of the eggs, resulting in perfectly cooked delicately prepared egg with firm whites and a warm, runny yolk. The intense, dry heat in conventional ovens acts stronger versus moist heat, typically causing making dishes dry and harden the yolk. Here are two sauce options as a jumping-off point, but get creative. The first features an easy coconut turmeric blend, and the second offers a merguez ragu reimagines eggs in purgatory, essentially, spicy tomato eggs.

Turmeric Coconut Curry Steamed Eggs (featured)

Preparation 10 minutes
Cooking time 55 min
Serves Two people

Olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
Fine sea salt
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
Fresh ginger root, minced ginger
Turmeric powder
Cumin seeds
Aromatic leaves
Creamy coconut
400g tin chickpeas
Basil leaves, and additional for topping
Fresh eggs
2 green finger chillies, julienned, to serve

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot at moderate-high temperature. Add a shot of olive oil, add the chopped onion and a pinch of salt, and cook for five to six minutes. Mix in garlic, ginger, and spices, leave to sizzle, occasionally stirring briefly, then tip in the coconut milk along with chickpeas and liquid. Heat until boiling, lower heat to gentle cook, allow to cook slowly about 35 minutes, until thick and golden. Add salt to taste, then stir in the basil leaves.

Use the back of a spoon to create four little pockets across the base, break eggs into each. Dust each egg with a little salt, place a lid on the pan, simmer over low heat briefly, when whites are cooked and the yolks just warm. Turn off stove, garnish with more basil and thinly sliced finger chillies, and serve.

Merguez Ragu with Tangy Peppers Baked Eggs

Preparation 10 minutes
Cook 45 min
Serves 2

Olive oil
2 merguez-style lamb sausages
1 tbsp harissa
1 tsp cumin seeds
Garlic cloves, sliced thin
400g good-quality tinned tomatoes
Seasoning
Fresh eggs
Pickled peppers, roughly chopped
Chopped herbs, finely chopped
Creamy yogurt
Fresh lemon, wedge-cut, for serving

Use a heavy pan at moderate temperature. Pour in oil when heated, remove the skins from the sausages and pinch small amounts into the skillet, almost like little meatballs. Reduce heat, then slowly brown the sausagemeat, extracting spicy fats. Move sausage pieces during cooking, to brown evenly.

When golden, mix in spices and garlic into the skillet, turn up the heat to medium and cook, stirring, for three to four minutes, when fragrant, and garlic softens. Add tomatoes, salt to taste heat to simmer. Turn down the heat to low and leave to blip away for 20 minutes. Ragu thickens, thicken and deepen in colour, as oils separate.

With a spoon to create four little pockets within sauce, add eggs individually. Sprinkle the top of each egg with a little salt, place lid on pan. Simmer briefly over a low heat, until the whites are set with yolks runny.

Remove from heat, finish with chopped pickled peppers, parsley and yogurt, and a drizzle of oil, with lemon on side.