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Let me explain: the most delicious egg dishes never require an oven. During recipe development, discovering that covering the pan generates steam that gently cooks the eggs, delivering a gently cooked soft-cooked egg with a tender white and flowing center. The harsh, arid temperature from baking proves harsher than steam, typically causing to dehydrate ingredients and harden the yolk. I’ve given you two sauces as a jumping-off point, though feel free to experiment. One is a super-simple coconut turmeric blend, while the merguez ragu is a riff on classic tomato-baked eggs, or, to the likes of you and me, eggs baked in spicy tomato sauce.

Turmeric Coconut Curry Steamed Eggs (shown above)

Preparation 10 minutes
Cook Just under an hour
Yields Two servings

Extra virgin oil
One medium onion, skinned and diced
Salt
2 garlic cloves, minced garlic
10g fresh ginger, minced ginger
1 tbsp ground turmeric
½ tbsp cumin seeds
Aromatic leaves
200ml coconut milk
400g tin chickpeas
Basil leaves, with more for garnish
Fresh eggs
Fresh chilies, julienned, as garnish

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot on a medium-high heat. Drizzle olive oil, toss in the onion with some salt, fry until softened. Incorporate aromatics and spices, let them sizzle, mixing now and then for three to four minutes, pour in creamy liquid including chickpea can contents. Let it bubble, then turn down to a simmer, let it simmer for 30-35 minutes, until thickened and deep yellow in colour. Add salt to taste, then stir in the basil leaves.

Employ a utensil forming small wells in the sauce, then crack an egg into each. Dust each egg with salt, place a lid on the pan, and cook on a low heat briefly, until egg whites firm with yolks still runny. Remove from heat, finish with a few extra basil leaves plus chili slices, then serve immediately.

Merguez Ragu and Pickled Peppers Steamed Eggs

Preparation 10 minutes
Cooking time 45 minutes
Serves Two portions

Olive oil
Spicy lamb sausages
1 tbsp harissa
Toasted cumin
Garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
Canned tomatoes
Fine sea salt
4 eggs
Tangy peppers, coarsely cut
Fresh parsley, diced
Creamy yogurt
Fresh lemon, wedge-cut, for serving

Use a heavy pan at moderate temperature. Drizzle olive oil once hot, remove the skins from the sausages and pinch small amounts of the meat into the pan, almost like little meatballs. Turn down the heat, brown the meat slowly, releasing flavorful oils. Stir merguez while cooking, to brown evenly.

Once browned, incorporate harissa, cumin, and garlic to the pot, increase to medium heat sauté while stirring, briefly, until the mix smells fragrant, and garlic softens. Pour in tomato contents, add seasoning let it bubble. Turn down the heat to low cooking gently for twenty minutes. Sauce will thicken, intensify in color, while the oils split and rise to the top.

Employ utensil making indentations across base, then crack an egg into each. Sprinkle the top of each egg lightly salted, then cover the pan with a lid. Cook for two to three minutes on low flame, until the whites are set and the yolks just warm.

Turn off stove, top with pickled peppers, parsley and yogurt, and oil splash, with lemon on side.