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So, hear me out: the most delicious egg dishes don’t ever hit the oven. When testing these recipes, discovering that covering the pan creates a steamy environment that gently cooks the eggs, resulting in perfectly cooked delicately prepared egg with firm whites plus liquid yolk. The harsh, arid temperature of the oven proves harsher versus moist heat, typically causing making dishes dry and overcook the yolk. Here are two sauce options as inspiration, though feel free to experiment. The first features an easy golden coconut sauce, while the merguez ragu is a riff on traditional spicy eggs, or simply put, eggs baked in spicy tomato sauce.

Golden Coconut Sauce Steamed Eggs (shown above)

Preparation 10 min
Cooking time Just under an hour
Yields Two people

Extra virgin oil
One medium onion, skinned and diced
Salt
Two garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
Fresh ginger root, peeled and finely chopped
Turmeric powder
Toasted cumin
Curry leaves
Creamy coconut
400g tin chickpeas
Basil leaves, with more for garnish
Fresh eggs
Green chilies, finely sliced, to serve

Use a heavy skillet over medium-high flame. Add a shot of 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, allow to cook, mixing now and then briefly, add coconut milk along with chickpeas and liquid. Let it bubble, lower heat to gentle cook, let it simmer about 35 minutes, until thick and golden. Adjust seasoning, then stir in the basil leaves.

Employ a utensil forming small wells in the sauce, break eggs into each. Dust each egg with salt, then cover the pan with a lid, simmer over low heat for a few minutes, when whites are cooked with yolks still runny. Take off the heat, garnish with more basil and thinly sliced finger chillies, then serve immediately.

Merguez Ragu and Pickled Peppers Baked Eggs

Prep Quick prep
Cook Under an hour
Serves Two

Olive oil
Spicy lamb sausages
Spicy paste
1 tsp cumin seeds
Garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
Tomato base
Seasoning
Fresh eggs
1 handful pickled peppers, diced
Chopped herbs, minced
3 tbsp thick Greek yoghurt
1 lemon, sliced into wedges, as garnish

Use a heavy pan at moderate temperature. Drizzle olive oil once hot, take off sausage casings and pinch small amounts adding to pan, almost like little meatballs. Lower temperature, cook until golden, extracting spicy fats. Move sausage pieces while cooking, so they colour on all sides.

After browning, mix in spices and garlic into the skillet, turn up the heat to medium sauté while stirring, for three to four minutes, when fragrant, and the garlic has lost its raw edge. Tip in the tomatoes, add seasoning let it bubble. Lower to gentle simmer and simmer slowly for 20 minutes. The ragu will reduce, thicken and deepen in colour, with oils separating and surfacing.

Use the back of a spoon making indentations across base, then crack an egg into each. Dust with salt lightly salted, then cover the pan with a lid. Simmer briefly gently, until whites firm and yolks warmed.

Turn off stove, top with pickled peppers, parsley, a blob of yoghurt, and a drizzle of oil, and serve with lemon wedges.