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Consider this: the best baked eggs never require an oven. Through culinary experiments, realizing that using a cover creates a steamy environment that gently cooks the eggs, resulting in perfectly cooked soft-cooked egg with a tender white and flowing center. Direct oven heat in conventional ovens acts stronger compared to steaming, typically causing making dishes dry and harden the yolk. Here are two sauce options as a jumping-off point, though feel free to experiment. The first features an easy turmeric coconut curry, while the merguez ragu puts a twist on eggs in purgatory, or, to the likes of you and me, eggs baked in spicy tomato sauce.

Turmeric Coconut Curry Baked Eggs (shown above)

Prep 10 min
Cooking time 55 minutes
Yields Two people

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

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot on a medium-high heat. Add a shot of olive oil, toss in the onion seasoned with salt, fry until softened. Incorporate aromatics and spices, leave to sizzle, stirring occasionally briefly, pour in creamy liquid and the chickpeas and their tin liquid. Let it bubble, then turn down to a simmer, allow to cook slowly for half an hour, until thick and golden. Add salt to taste, mix in fresh basil.

Use the back of a spoon forming small wells in the sauce, add eggs individually. Season eggs with salt, cover the skillet, and cook on a low heat for two to three minutes, until egg whites firm and the yolks just warm. Remove from heat, finish with a few extra basil leaves and thinly sliced finger chillies, then serve immediately.

Spicy Sausage Sauce and Pickled Peppers Baked Eggs

Prep 10 min
Cook 45 min
Yields 2

Olive oil
2 merguez-style lamb sausages
1 tbsp harissa
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
400g good-quality tinned tomatoes
Fine sea salt
Four eggs
Pickled peppers, diced
Fresh parsley, finely chopped
3 tbsp thick Greek yoghurt
1 lemon, wedge-cut, as garnish

Use a heavy pan on a medium heat. Pour in oil and, once it’s warm, remove the skins from the sausages and pinch small amounts adding to pan, resembling tiny meatballs. Turn down the heat, cook until golden, extracting spicy fats. Roll the merguez pieces around the pan while cooking, for even browning.

After browning, add the harissa, cumin seeds and sliced garlic to the pot, increase to medium heat and cook, stirring, briefly, when fragrant, and garlic softens. Tip in the tomatoes, season with salt and bring to a simmer. Turn down the heat to low cooking gently for 20 minutes. Ragu thickens, become richer and darker, while the oils split and rise to the top.

Employ utensil making indentations within sauce, then crack an egg into each. Sprinkle the top of each egg with salt, then cover the pan with a lid. Cook for two to three minutes on low flame, until the whites are set with yolks runny.

Take off the heat, finish with chopped pickled peppers, parsley, a blob of yoghurt, and oil splash, and serve with lemon wedges.