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Let me explain: the best baked eggs never require an oven. During recipe development, discovering that covering the pan produces a humid atmosphere for cooking the egg tops, delivering a gently cooked delicately prepared egg with firm whites plus liquid yolk. Direct oven heat in conventional ovens proves harsher than steam, and has a tendency to dry everything out and overcook the yolk. Here are two sauce options as a jumping-off point, but get creative. One is a super-simple turmeric coconut curry, while the merguez ragu is a riff on classic tomato-baked eggs, or, to the likes of you and me, spicy tomato eggs.

Golden Coconut Sauce Steamed Eggs (shown above)

Prep A quick 10 minutes
Cook Just under an hour
Serves Two servings

Olive oil
One medium onion, skinned and diced
Fine sea salt
Two garlic cloves, minced garlic
10g fresh ginger, minced ginger
Turmeric powder
Cumin seeds
Curry leaves
200ml coconut milk
Canned chickpeas
A few basil leaves, with more for garnish
4 eggs
Green chilies, finely sliced, for serving

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, let them sizzle, mixing now and then for a few minutes, pour in creamy liquid including chickpea can contents. Let it bubble, reduce to a simmer, let it simmer for 30-35 minutes, until thickened and deep yellow in colour. Season with salt, mix in fresh basil.

With a spoon’s back forming small wells in the sauce, then crack an egg into each. Season eggs with salt, place a lid on the pan, and cook on a low heat for two to three minutes, until egg whites firm and yolks warmed. Remove from heat, finish with a few extra basil leaves and sliced chilies, then serve immediately.

Spicy Sausage Sauce with Tangy Peppers Baked Eggs

Preparation 10 minutes
Cooking time 45 minutes
Serves 2

Olive oil
Spicy lamb sausages
1 tbsp harissa
Toasted cumin
2 garlic cloves, minced garlic
400g good-quality tinned tomatoes
Fine sea salt
Four eggs
1 handful pickled peppers, coarsely cut
1 small handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, minced
3 tbsp thick Greek yoghurt
Fresh lemon, sliced into wedges, as garnish

Use a heavy pan at moderate temperature. Pour in oil when heated, peel sausages forming small bits of the meat into the pan, almost like little meatballs. Reduce heat, then slowly brown the sausagemeat, extracting spicy fats. Stir merguez as they cook, for even browning.

Once browned, incorporate harissa, cumin, and garlic into the skillet, increase to medium heat and cook, stirring, briefly, until the mix smells fragrant, and the garlic has lost its raw edge. Pour in tomato contents, salt to taste and bring to a simmer. Reduce to low heat and leave to blip away for twenty minutes. Ragu thickens, intensify in color, as oils separate.

Employ utensil to create four little pockets across base, add eggs individually. Season eggs with a little salt, then cover the pan with a lid. Simmer briefly on low flame, until the whites are set and the yolks just warm.

Remove from heat, top with pickled peppers, parsley, a blob of yoghurt, and oil splash, accompanied by lemon.