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Let me explain: the most delicious egg dishes are made without baking. Through culinary experiments, discovering that covering the pan creates a steamy environment to cook the top of the eggs, resulting in perfectly cooked perfectly poached egg with firm whites plus liquid yolk. Direct oven heat in conventional ovens acts stronger than steam, and has a tendency to dehydrate ingredients and harden the yolk. Here are two sauce options as inspiration, but get creative. One is a super-simple turmeric coconut curry, whereas the spicy sausage sauce puts a twist on eggs in purgatory, or simply put, eggs cooked in zesty tomato base.

Turmeric Coconut Curry Steamed Eggs (pictured above)

Preparation 10 min
Cook Just under an hour
Yields 2

Olive oil
One medium onion, trimmed and minced
Salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
Fresh ginger root, peeled and finely chopped
Golden spice
½ tbsp cumin seeds
6-8 curry leaves
Coconut milk
Chickpeas
Basil leaves, and additional for topping
4 eggs
Green chilies, julienned, for serving

Use a heavy skillet over medium-high flame. Drizzle olive oil, incorporate onions seasoned with salt, and cook for five to six minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin seeds and curry leaves, allow to cook, occasionally stirring for a few minutes, pour in creamy liquid and the chickpeas and their tin liquid. Let it bubble, lower heat to gentle cook, and leave it to tick over about 35 minutes, until thick and golden. Add salt to taste, mix in fresh basil.

With a spoon’s back to create four little pockets within the sauce, add eggs individually. Sprinkle the top of each egg with salt, then cover the pan with a lid, gently heat briefly, until the whites are set and yolks warmed. Remove from heat, top with fresh herbs plus chili slices, and serve.

Merguez Ragu and Pickled Peppers Baked Eggs

Prep 10 minutes
Cook Under an hour
Yields Two portions

Olive oil
2 merguez-style lamb sausages
1 tbsp harissa
Toasted cumin
2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
Tomato base
Salt
Fresh eggs
Tangy peppers, coarsely cut
1 small handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, diced
Creamy yogurt
Fresh lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

Heat a skillet on a medium heat. Add two tablespoons of olive oil and, once it’s warm, remove the skins from the sausages and pinch small amounts adding to pan, resembling tiny meatballs. Lower temperature, then slowly brown the sausagemeat, releasing flavorful oils. Roll the merguez pieces around the pan while cooking, to brown evenly.

Once browned, incorporate harissa, cumin, and garlic to the pot, adjust to moderate flame fry with mixing, for three to four minutes, until the mix smells fragrant, and garlic softens. Add tomatoes, add seasoning let it bubble. Lower to gentle simmer and leave to blip away about 20 minutes. The ragu will reduce, intensify in color, with oils separating and surfacing.

With a spoon making indentations across base, add eggs individually. Sprinkle the top of each egg with salt, then cover the pan with a lid. Simmer briefly over a low heat, until the whites are set and yolks warmed.

Take off the heat, finish with chopped pickled peppers, herbs, yogurt dollop, plus oil drizzle, with lemon on side.