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So, hear me out: the best baked eggs are made without baking. Through culinary experiments, I found that simply adding a lid produces a humid atmosphere to cook the top of the eggs, resulting in perfectly cooked perfectly poached egg with a tender white and a warm, runny yolk. The harsh, arid temperature in conventional ovens acts stronger than steam, and has a tendency making dishes dry and overcook the yolk. I’ve given you two sauces to get started, but get creative. The first features an easy coconut turmeric blend, and the second offers a merguez ragu puts a twist on classic tomato-baked eggs, essentially, spicy tomato eggs.

Turmeric Coconut Curry Baked Eggs (pictured above)

Prep A quick 10 minutes
Cooking time 55 minutes
Serves 2

Extra virgin oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
Salt
Two garlic cloves, minced garlic
10g fresh ginger, grated ginger
1 tbsp ground turmeric
½ tbsp cumin seeds
6-8 curry leaves
Creamy coconut
Chickpeas
Basil leaves, plus extra to serve
Four eggs
2 green finger chillies, finely sliced, as garnish

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot on a medium-high heat. Pour in some oil, add the chopped onion and a pinch of salt, fry until softened. Add the garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin seeds and curry leaves, allow to cook, mixing now and then briefly, then tip in the coconut milk along with chickpeas and liquid. Let it bubble, then turn down to a simmer, and leave it to tick over about 35 minutes, when sauce is rich and yellow. Add salt to taste, then stir in the basil leaves.

Employ a utensil to create four little pockets across the base, add eggs individually. Season eggs with a little salt, then cover the pan with a lid, simmer over low heat briefly, until egg whites firm and yolks warmed. Take off the heat, finish with a few extra basil leaves and sliced chilies, ready to enjoy.

Spicy Sausage Sauce and Pickled Peppers Baked Eggs

Preparation 10 min
Cook 45 min
Yields Two

Oil
Merguez sausages
1 tbsp harissa
Cumin seeds
Garlic cloves, minced garlic
Canned tomatoes
Seasoning
Fresh eggs
Pickled peppers, roughly chopped
Fresh parsley, finely chopped
Creamy yogurt
Fresh lemon, wedge-cut, for serving

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot on a medium heat. Drizzle olive oil once hot, take off sausage casings and pinch small amounts of the meat into the pan, almost like little meatballs. Lower temperature, brown the meat slowly, extracting spicy fats. Stir merguez during cooking, to brown evenly.

Once browned, incorporate harissa, cumin, and garlic into the skillet, adjust to moderate flame fry with mixing, briefly, when fragrant, with garlic cooked. Add tomatoes, season with salt heat to simmer. Reduce to low heat and leave to blip away for 20 minutes. Ragu thickens, intensify in color, with oils separating and surfacing.

With a spoon making indentations in the sauce, add eggs individually. Sprinkle the top of each egg lightly salted, place lid on pan. Heat for minutes on low flame, when eggs set and the yolks just warm.

Remove from heat, garnish with peppers, parsley, a blob of yoghurt, and oil splash, with lemon on side.