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Let me explain: the most delicious egg dishes don’t ever hit the oven. When testing these recipes, discovering that covering the pan creates a steamy environment for cooking the egg tops, yielding tender perfectly poached egg with firm whites and a warm, runny yolk. Direct oven heat in conventional ovens is much more aggressive than steam, often leading to dry everything out resulting in firm yolks. Here are two sauce options as inspiration, encouraging customization. Option one involves a straightforward turmeric coconut curry, and the second offers a merguez ragu puts a twist on traditional spicy eggs, essentially, eggs cooked in zesty tomato base.

Golden Coconut Sauce Steamed Eggs (featured)

Prep 10 min
Cook Just under an hour
Serves 2

Extra virgin oil
One medium onion, skinned and diced
Sea salt
Two garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
Fresh ginger root, grated ginger
1 tbsp ground turmeric
Toasted cumin
Aromatic leaves
200ml coconut milk
Chickpeas
Basil leaves, and additional for topping
Fresh eggs
2 green finger chillies, finely sliced, for serving

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot at moderate-high temperature. Add a shot of olive oil, incorporate onions seasoned with salt, fry until softened. Mix in garlic, ginger, and spices, allow to cook, mixing now and then for a few minutes, then tip in the coconut milk and the chickpeas and their tin liquid. Let it bubble, reduce to a simmer, let it simmer about 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 within the sauce, break eggs into each. Sprinkle the top of each egg with a little salt, then cover the pan with a lid, gently heat briefly, when whites are cooked with yolks still runny. Turn off stove, finish with a few extra basil leaves plus chili slices, ready to enjoy.

Merguez Ragu and Pickled Peppers Steamed Eggs

Preparation Quick prep
Cooking time Under an hour
Yields 2

Olive oil
Merguez sausages
Harissa paste
Cumin seeds
2 garlic cloves, sliced thin
400g good-quality tinned tomatoes
Seasoning
Four eggs
1 handful pickled peppers, roughly chopped
Fresh parsley, diced
3 tbsp thick Greek yoghurt
1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot on a medium heat. Add two tablespoons of olive oil once hot, remove the skins from the sausages and break off pieces into the skillet, almost like little meatballs. Turn down the heat, brown the meat slowly, so it renders out all that spicy, flavour-packed fat. Roll the merguez pieces around the pan while cooking, to brown evenly.

After browning, mix in spices and garlic into the skillet, turn up the heat to medium fry with mixing, for three to four minutes, until the mix smells fragrant, and the garlic has lost its raw edge. Add tomatoes, salt to taste heat to simmer. Turn down the heat to low and simmer slowly for twenty minutes. The ragu will reduce, intensify in color, as oils separate.

Employ utensil forming wells within sauce, then crack an egg into each. Sprinkle the top of each egg with salt, place lid on pan. Simmer briefly on low flame, until the whites are set and yolks warmed.

Remove from heat, top with pickled peppers, parsley and yogurt, and oil splash, and serve with lemon wedges.