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Let me explain: the most delicious egg dishes don’t ever hit the oven. During recipe development, I found that simply adding a lid creates a steamy environment for cooking the egg tops, yielding tender soft-cooked egg with a tender white and flowing center. The harsh, arid temperature in conventional ovens is much more aggressive compared to steaming, often leading making dishes dry and overcook the yolk. Here are two sauce options as a jumping-off point, encouraging customization. One is a super-simple coconut turmeric blend, while the merguez ragu reimagines classic tomato-baked eggs, or, to the likes of you and me, eggs baked in spicy tomato sauce.

Golden Coconut Sauce Baked Eggs (pictured above)

Preparation A quick 10 minutes
Cooking time 55 min
Yields Two servings

Olive oil
1 onion, trimmed and minced
Salt
Two garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
Fresh ginger root, minced ginger
Turmeric powder
Cumin seeds
6-8 curry leaves
Coconut milk
Chickpeas
A few basil leaves, with more for garnish
4 eggs
Green chilies, thinly cut, to serve

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot over medium-high flame. Drizzle olive oil, incorporate onions and a pinch of salt, fry until softened. Mix in garlic, ginger, and spices, leave to sizzle, mixing now and then briefly, add coconut milk including chickpea can contents. Heat until boiling, reduce to a simmer, and leave it to tick over for 30-35 minutes, until thickened and deep yellow in colour. Add salt to taste, then stir in the basil leaves.

With a spoon’s back making four indentations across the base, break eggs into each. Season eggs with salt, place a lid on the pan, simmer over low heat for two to three minutes, when whites are cooked with yolks still runny. Remove from heat, finish with a few extra basil leaves and sliced chilies, and serve.

Spicy Sausage Sauce with Tangy Peppers Baked Eggs

Preparation Quick prep
Cook 45 min
Serves Two portions

Oil
Spicy lamb sausages
1 tbsp harissa
1 tsp cumin seeds
Garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
400g good-quality tinned tomatoes
Fine sea salt
Four eggs
Tangy peppers, diced
Chopped herbs, diced
Greek yogurt
1 lemon, wedge-cut, for serving

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot at moderate temperature. Pour in oil once hot, peel sausages and break off pieces adding to pan, like mini balls. Lower temperature, cook until golden, so it renders out all that spicy, flavour-packed fat. Stir merguez as they cook, to brown evenly.

Once browned, mix in spices and garlic into the skillet, increase to medium heat fry with mixing, briefly, until the mix smells fragrant, and garlic softens. Pour in tomato contents, add seasoning let it bubble. Reduce to low heat and leave to blip away for twenty minutes. Sauce will thicken, thicken and deepen in colour, while the oils split and rise to the top.

Employ utensil making indentations within sauce, add eggs individually. Season eggs lightly salted, then cover the pan with a lid. Simmer briefly on low flame, when eggs set and yolks warmed.

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