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Let me explain: the most delicious egg dishes don’t ever hit the oven. Through culinary experiments, realizing that using a cover creates a steamy environment to cook the top of the eggs, yielding tender perfectly poached egg with firm whites and a warm, runny yolk. The intense, dry heat of the oven acts stronger compared to steaming, often leading making dishes dry resulting in firm yolks. Here are two sauce options as a jumping-off point, though feel free to experiment. Option one involves a straightforward turmeric coconut curry, while the merguez ragu reimagines eggs in purgatory, or, to the likes of you and me, eggs cooked in zesty tomato base.

Golden Coconut Sauce Baked Eggs (shown above)

Prep 10 min
Cooking time 55 min
Yields Two people

Olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
Sea salt
Two garlic cloves, minced garlic
Fresh ginger root, peeled and finely chopped
Golden spice
Toasted cumin
Aromatic leaves
Creamy coconut
Chickpeas
Fresh basil, plus extra to serve
Fresh eggs
2 green finger chillies, thinly cut, for serving

Use a heavy skillet over medium-high flame. Pour in some oil, toss in the onion seasoned with salt, and cook for five to six minutes. Mix in garlic, ginger, and spices, let them sizzle, mixing now and then briefly, pour in creamy liquid along with chickpeas and liquid. Let it bubble, then turn down 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 within the sauce, add eggs individually. Season eggs lightly salted, then cover the pan with a lid, simmer over low heat briefly, until the whites are set and the yolks just warm. Turn off stove, garnish with more basil and thinly sliced finger chillies, ready to enjoy.

Merguez Ragu and Pickled Peppers Steamed Eggs

Preparation 10 minutes
Cooking time Under an hour
Serves 2

Olive oil
Spicy lamb sausages
Spicy paste
Toasted cumin
2 garlic cloves, sliced thin
Canned tomatoes
Seasoning
Fresh eggs
1 handful pickled peppers, diced
1 small handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Creamy yogurt
1 lemon, cut into wedges, as garnish

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot on a medium heat. Pour in oil and, once it’s warm, peel sausages and pinch small amounts adding to pan, like mini balls. Turn down the heat, brown the meat slowly, extracting spicy fats. Move sausage pieces as they cook, for even browning.

After browning, add the harissa, cumin seeds and sliced garlic into the skillet, turn up the heat to medium and cook, stirring, briefly, until the mix smells fragrant, and the garlic has lost its raw edge. Add tomatoes, add seasoning and bring to a simmer. Reduce to low heat and leave to blip away about 20 minutes. Sauce will thicken, become richer and darker, while the oils split and rise to the top.

Use the back of a spoon forming wells across base, break eggs in. Dust with salt with a little salt, then cover the pan with a lid. Heat for minutes on low flame, when eggs set and the yolks just warm.

Take off the heat, garnish with peppers, parsley and yogurt, and a drizzle of oil, and serve with lemon wedges.