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So, hear me out: the best baked eggs don’t ever hit the oven. During recipe development, I found that simply adding a lid produces a humid atmosphere to cook the top of the eggs, resulting in perfectly cooked delicately prepared egg with a tender white and a warm, runny yolk. The harsh, arid temperature in conventional ovens is much more aggressive than steam, often leading to dehydrate ingredients and harden the yolk. Presenting two flavorful bases as a jumping-off point, though feel free to experiment. One is a super-simple coconut turmeric blend, and the second offers a merguez ragu puts a twist on eggs in purgatory, or simply put, eggs baked in spicy tomato sauce.

Turmeric Coconut Curry Baked Eggs (pictured above)

Prep A quick 10 minutes
Cook 55 minutes
Yields Two servings

Extra virgin oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
Sea salt
Two garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
Fresh ginger root, grated ginger
1 tbsp ground turmeric
Toasted cumin
Curry leaves
Coconut milk
Chickpeas
Basil leaves, and additional for topping
Four eggs
Green chilies, julienned, as garnish

Use a heavy skillet at moderate-high temperature. Drizzle olive oil, incorporate onions and a pinch of salt, and cook for five to six minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin seeds and curry leaves, let them sizzle, occasionally stirring briefly, pour in creamy liquid including chickpea can contents. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, allow to cook slowly for 30-35 minutes, until thick and golden. Season with salt, then stir in the basil leaves.

Employ a utensil making four indentations within the sauce, break eggs into each. Sprinkle the top of each egg lightly salted, place a lid on the pan, simmer over low heat for two to three minutes, when whites are cooked and yolks warmed. Turn off stove, garnish with more basil and sliced chilies, and serve.

Spicy Sausage Sauce and Pickled Peppers Steamed Eggs

Preparation Quick prep
Cooking time 45 min
Serves 2

Oil
2 merguez-style lamb sausages
1 tbsp harissa
Toasted cumin
Garlic cloves, sliced thin
400g good-quality tinned tomatoes
Fine sea salt
Four eggs
1 handful pickled peppers, coarsely cut
Chopped herbs, finely chopped
Greek yogurt
Fresh lemon, sliced into wedges, for serving

Use a heavy pan at moderate temperature. Drizzle olive oil once hot, take off sausage casings and break off pieces of the meat into the pan, like mini balls. Turn down the heat, cook until golden, extracting spicy fats. Roll the merguez pieces around the pan while cooking, to brown evenly.

After browning, incorporate harissa, cumin, and garlic to the pot, turn up the heat to medium fry with mixing, briefly, until the mix smells fragrant, and the garlic has lost its raw edge. Tip in the tomatoes, season with salt heat to simmer. Lower to gentle simmer cooking gently for twenty minutes. The ragu will reduce, intensify in color, with oils separating and surfacing.

Use the back of a spoon forming wells within sauce, add eggs individually. Dust with salt lightly salted, then cover the pan with a lid. Heat for minutes gently, until the whites are set with yolks runny.

Remove from heat, finish with chopped pickled peppers, herbs, yogurt dollop, plus oil drizzle, accompanied by lemon.