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Consider this: the most delicious egg dishes are made without baking. Through culinary experiments, I found that simply adding a lid generates steam for cooking the egg tops, yielding tender soft-cooked egg featuring set whites and a warm, runny yolk. The intense, dry heat from baking is much more aggressive versus moist heat, often leading making dishes dry and harden the yolk. Presenting two flavorful bases as inspiration, though feel free to experiment. One is a super-simple golden coconut sauce, while the merguez ragu reimagines classic tomato-baked eggs, essentially, eggs cooked in zesty tomato base.

Golden Coconut Sauce Steamed Eggs (featured)

Prep A quick 10 minutes
Cook 55 min
Yields Two servings

Olive oil
One medium onion, trimmed and minced
Sea salt
Two garlic cloves, minced garlic
10g fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
Golden spice
½ tbsp cumin seeds
6-8 curry leaves
Coconut milk
Chickpeas
Fresh basil, plus extra to serve
Fresh eggs
Green chilies, finely sliced, for serving

Use a heavy skillet over medium-high flame. Add a shot of olive oil, add the chopped onion seasoned with salt, sauté for several minutes. Incorporate aromatics and spices, allow to cook, mixing now and then for three to four minutes, add coconut milk and the chickpeas and their tin liquid. Heat until boiling, lower heat to gentle cook, let it simmer for half an hour, until thickened and deep yellow in colour. Season with salt, mix in fresh basil.

Use the back of a spoon making four indentations within the sauce, break eggs into each. Sprinkle the top of each egg with a little salt, cover the skillet, simmer over low heat for two to three minutes, until the whites are set and the yolks just warm. Take off the heat, top with fresh herbs plus chili slices, and serve.

Merguez Ragu with Tangy Peppers Baked Eggs

Preparation 10 min
Cooking time 45 minutes
Serves 2

Olive oil
Spicy lamb sausages
Spicy paste
Cumin seeds
Garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
400g good-quality tinned tomatoes
Seasoning
Four eggs
Pickled peppers, roughly chopped
1 small handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Creamy yogurt
1 lemon, sliced into wedges, for serving

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot at moderate temperature. Add two tablespoons of olive oil and, once it’s warm, remove the skins from the sausages and pinch small amounts adding to pan, almost like little meatballs. Lower temperature, brown the meat slowly, so it renders out all that spicy, flavour-packed fat. Stir merguez while cooking, to brown evenly.

After browning, incorporate harissa, cumin, and garlic into the skillet, turn up the heat to medium sauté while stirring, for several minutes, until the mix smells fragrant, and the garlic has lost its raw edge. Pour in tomato contents, season with salt heat to simmer. Reduce to low heat cooking gently about 20 minutes. The ragu will reduce, thicken and deepen in colour, as oils separate.

Use the back of a spoon making indentations in the sauce, break eggs in. Dust with salt with a little salt, place lid on pan. Cook for two to three minutes gently, until whites firm with yolks runny.

Take off the heat, garnish with peppers, parsley and yogurt, and a drizzle of oil, accompanied by lemon.