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So, hear me out: the most delicious egg dishes are made without baking. Through culinary experiments, realizing that using a cover generates steam that gently cooks the eggs, delivering a gently cooked soft-cooked egg featuring set whites plus liquid yolk. The intense, dry heat from baking is much more aggressive compared to steaming, often leading to dry everything out and overcook the yolk. Here are two sauce options as inspiration, encouraging customization. The first features an easy turmeric coconut curry, and the second offers a merguez ragu is a riff on eggs in purgatory, or simply put, spicy tomato eggs.

Turmeric Coconut Curry Steamed Eggs (pictured above)

Prep 10 min
Cooking time 55 minutes
Serves 2

Olive oil
1 onion, trimmed and minced
Sea salt
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
Fresh ginger root, minced ginger
1 tbsp ground turmeric
Cumin seeds
6-8 curry leaves
200ml coconut milk
Canned chickpeas
Fresh basil, and additional for topping
4 eggs
2 green finger chillies, julienned, as garnish

Use a heavy skillet over medium-high flame. Pour in some oil, incorporate onions seasoned with salt, fry until softened. Add the garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin seeds and curry leaves, allow to cook, mixing now and then for three to four minutes, add coconut milk along with chickpeas and liquid. Heat until boiling, then turn down to a simmer, and leave it to tick over for 30-35 minutes, until thick and golden. Season with salt, then stir in the basil leaves.

Employ a utensil to create four little pockets across the base, then crack an egg into each. Dust each egg lightly salted, then cover the pan with a lid, simmer over low heat for two to three minutes, until the whites are set and the yolks just warm. Take off the heat, finish with a few extra basil leaves and thinly sliced finger chillies, then serve immediately.

Merguez Ragu with Tangy Peppers Baked Eggs

Preparation 10 minutes
Cook 45 minutes
Serves Two portions

Oil
Merguez sausages
Spicy paste
1 tsp cumin seeds
Garlic cloves, sliced thin
400g good-quality tinned tomatoes
Seasoning
4 eggs
1 handful pickled peppers, roughly chopped
Fresh parsley, diced
Creamy yogurt
Fresh lemon, wedge-cut, for serving

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot on a medium heat. Drizzle olive oil when heated, remove the skins from the sausages forming small bits into the skillet, resembling tiny meatballs. Reduce heat, cook until golden, releasing flavorful oils. Move sausage pieces while cooking, to brown evenly.

After browning, add the harissa, cumin seeds and sliced garlic into the skillet, turn up the heat to medium sauté while stirring, for three to four minutes, until aromatic, and garlic softens. Pour in tomato contents, add seasoning and bring to a simmer. Lower to gentle simmer and simmer slowly about 20 minutes. Sauce will thicken, intensify in color, while the oils split and rise to the top.

Employ utensil to create four little pockets within sauce, then crack an egg into each. Dust with salt lightly salted, place lid on pan. Cook for two to three minutes over a low heat, until whites firm and yolks warmed.

Turn off stove, finish with chopped pickled peppers, parsley and yogurt, and oil splash, and serve with lemon wedges.