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So, hear me out: the best baked eggs never require an oven. During recipe development, realizing that using a cover creates a steamy environment to cook the top of the eggs, delivering a gently cooked delicately prepared egg with a tender white and a warm, runny yolk. The intense, dry heat from baking proves harsher versus moist heat, typically causing to dehydrate ingredients resulting in firm yolks. Presenting two flavorful bases to get started, though feel free to experiment. Option one involves a straightforward golden coconut sauce, while the merguez ragu reimagines eggs in purgatory, or simply put, spicy tomato eggs.

Golden Coconut Sauce Baked Eggs (featured)

Prep 10 minutes
Cook 55 minutes
Yields Two people

Olive oil
1 onion, trimmed and minced
Sea salt
Two garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
10g fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
Golden spice
½ tbsp cumin seeds
6-8 curry leaves
Coconut milk
400g tin chickpeas
A few basil leaves, and additional for topping
4 eggs
Green chilies, thinly cut, to serve

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot on a medium-high heat. Drizzle olive oil, add the chopped onion with some salt, fry until softened. Add the garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin seeds and curry leaves, allow to cook, stirring occasionally for three to four minutes, pour in creamy liquid and the chickpeas and their tin liquid. Let it bubble, then turn down to a simmer, let it simmer about 35 minutes, until thick and golden. Season with salt, incorporate basil.

Employ a utensil to create four little pockets in the sauce, break eggs into each. Season eggs with salt, then cover the pan with a lid, gently heat for two to three minutes, until the whites are set with yolks still runny. Take off the heat, garnish with more basil plus chili slices, then serve immediately.

Spicy Sausage Sauce with Tangy Peppers Baked Eggs

Preparation 10 min
Cooking time 45 min
Serves Two

Olive oil
Spicy lamb sausages
1 tbsp harissa
Toasted cumin
2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
Canned tomatoes
Salt
4 eggs
1 handful pickled peppers, roughly chopped
Chopped herbs, diced
Greek yogurt
Fresh lemon, wedge-cut, to serve

Heat a skillet at moderate temperature. Pour in oil and, once it’s warm, remove the skins from the sausages forming small bits into the skillet, resembling tiny meatballs. Turn down the heat, brown the meat slowly, extracting spicy fats. Move sausage pieces as they cook, for even browning.

When golden, incorporate harissa, cumin, and garlic to the pan, increase to medium heat fry with mixing, for three to four minutes, until the mix smells fragrant, with garlic cooked. Tip in the tomatoes, salt to taste heat to simmer. Turn down the heat to low and leave to blip away for 20 minutes. Ragu thickens, become richer and darker, with oils separating and surfacing.

Use the back of a spoon to create four little pockets in the sauce, add eggs individually. Season eggs lightly salted, place lid on pan. Heat for minutes over a low heat, until whites firm with yolks runny.

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