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So, hear me out: the most delicious egg dishes don’t ever hit the oven. Through culinary experiments, realizing that using a cover generates steam that gently cooks the eggs, delivering a gently cooked delicately prepared egg with firm whites plus liquid yolk. Direct oven heat from baking proves harsher than steam, often leading to dehydrate ingredients and harden the yolk. Presenting two flavorful bases as inspiration, but get creative. One is a super-simple coconut turmeric blend, and the second offers a merguez ragu is a riff on classic tomato-baked eggs, essentially, spicy tomato eggs.

Golden Coconut Sauce Baked Eggs (shown above)

Prep A quick 10 minutes
Cook Just under an hour
Yields 2

Olive oil
One medium onion, trimmed and minced
Fine sea salt
Two garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
Fresh ginger root, minced ginger
1 tbsp ground turmeric
½ tbsp cumin seeds
6-8 curry leaves
Creamy coconut
Chickpeas
Basil leaves, with more for garnish
Fresh eggs
Green chilies, thinly cut, as garnish

Use a heavy skillet over medium-high flame. Drizzle olive oil, toss in the onion seasoned with salt, sauté for several minutes. Incorporate aromatics and spices, allow to cook, mixing now and then briefly, then tip in the coconut milk along with chickpeas and liquid. Bring to a boil, lower heat to gentle cook, let it simmer for half an hour, when sauce is rich and yellow. Add salt to taste, then stir in the basil leaves.

Use the back of a spoon making four indentations within the sauce, add eggs individually. Dust each egg with salt, then cover the pan with a lid, gently heat for a few minutes, when whites are cooked and yolks warmed. Remove from heat, garnish with more basil and sliced chilies, then serve immediately.

Spicy Sausage Sauce and Pickled Peppers Baked Eggs

Prep 10 min
Cook 45 minutes
Yields Two

Olive oil
Merguez sausages
Harissa paste
Toasted cumin
Garlic cloves, minced garlic
400g good-quality tinned tomatoes
Salt
Fresh eggs
Tangy peppers, coarsely cut
Chopped herbs, finely chopped
Creamy yogurt
Fresh lemon, cut into wedges, as garnish

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot over medium flame. Pour in oil when heated, take off sausage casings forming small bits of the meat into the pan, resembling tiny meatballs. Lower temperature, brown the meat slowly, extracting spicy fats. Stir merguez as they cook, for even browning.

After browning, add the harissa, cumin seeds and sliced garlic to the pot, increase to medium heat and cook, stirring, for several minutes, until the mix smells fragrant, with garlic cooked. Pour in tomato contents, add seasoning and bring to a simmer. Turn down the heat to low and simmer slowly about 20 minutes. The ragu will reduce, become richer and darker, with oils separating and surfacing.

Employ utensil forming wells within sauce, then crack an egg into each. Sprinkle the top of each egg with a little salt, then cover the pan with a lid. Heat for minutes gently, until the whites are set and yolks warmed.

Turn off stove, garnish with peppers, herbs, yogurt dollop, and a drizzle of oil, accompanied by lemon.