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So, hear me out: the best baked eggs don’t ever hit the oven. When testing these recipes, realizing that using a cover creates a steamy environment for cooking the egg tops, delivering a gently cooked delicately prepared egg featuring set whites and a warm, runny yolk. The harsh, arid temperature of the oven is much more aggressive compared to steaming, and has a tendency making dishes dry resulting in firm yolks. Here are two sauce options as inspiration, encouraging customization. Option one involves a straightforward golden coconut sauce, while the merguez ragu puts a twist on classic tomato-baked eggs, or, to the likes of you and me, eggs baked in spicy tomato sauce.

Golden Coconut Sauce Steamed Eggs (featured)

Preparation A quick 10 minutes
Cooking time 55 min
Yields Two servings

Extra virgin oil
1 onion, trimmed and minced
Sea salt
Two garlic cloves, minced garlic
10g fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 tbsp ground turmeric
Toasted cumin
Aromatic leaves
200ml coconut milk
Canned chickpeas
Fresh basil, plus extra to serve
Four eggs
2 green finger chillies, finely sliced, to serve

Heat a cast-iron pan on a medium-high heat. Drizzle olive oil, incorporate onions and a pinch of salt, sauté for several minutes. Mix in garlic, ginger, and spices, allow to cook, occasionally stirring briefly, add coconut milk and the chickpeas and their tin liquid. Heat until boiling, lower heat to gentle cook, let it simmer for 30-35 minutes, when sauce is rich and yellow. Add salt to taste, incorporate basil.

Use the back of a spoon forming small wells within the sauce, then crack an egg into each. Dust each egg with a little salt, cover the skillet, gently heat for two to three minutes, when whites are cooked and the yolks just warm. Remove from heat, garnish with more basil plus chili slices, then serve immediately.

Merguez Ragu with Tangy Peppers Baked Eggs

Prep Quick prep
Cook 45 min
Yields Two portions

Oil
2 merguez-style lamb sausages
1 tbsp harissa
Cumin seeds
2 garlic cloves, sliced thin
Canned tomatoes
Salt
Four eggs
Tangy peppers, roughly chopped
1 small handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, minced
Creamy yogurt
1 lemon, sliced into wedges, to serve

Use a heavy pan at moderate temperature. Add two tablespoons of olive oil once hot, take off sausage casings and break off pieces into the skillet, resembling tiny meatballs. Reduce heat, then slowly brown the sausagemeat, releasing flavorful oils. Move sausage pieces during cooking, so they colour on all sides.

Once browned, add the harissa, cumin seeds and sliced garlic to the pot, turn up the heat to medium sauté while stirring, for three to four minutes, until aromatic, with garlic cooked. Tip in the tomatoes, add seasoning and bring to a simmer. Lower to gentle simmer and simmer slowly about 20 minutes. The ragu will reduce, become richer and darker, while the oils split and rise to the top.

With a spoon to create four little pockets in the sauce, add eggs individually. Dust with salt with a little salt, place lid on pan. Heat for minutes gently, until the whites are set and the yolks just warm.

Take off the heat, top with pickled peppers, herbs, yogurt dollop, and a drizzle of oil, with lemon on side.