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So, hear me out: the most delicious egg dishes never require an oven. During recipe development, discovering that covering the pan creates a steamy environment to cook the top of the eggs, yielding tender perfectly poached egg with firm whites and a warm, runny yolk. Direct oven heat in conventional ovens is much more aggressive versus moist heat, and has a tendency to dry everything out and overcook the yolk. Presenting two flavorful bases as inspiration, but get creative. One is a super-simple turmeric coconut curry, and the second offers a merguez ragu is a riff on eggs in purgatory, or, to the likes of you and me, eggs cooked in zesty tomato base.

Golden Coconut Sauce Baked Eggs (shown above)

Prep 10 min
Cooking time 55 minutes
Yields Two servings

Olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
Sea salt
Two garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
Fresh ginger root, minced ginger
Golden spice
½ tbsp cumin seeds
Aromatic leaves
Coconut milk
Chickpeas
A few basil leaves, plus extra to serve
Fresh eggs
Fresh chilies, finely sliced, to serve

Heat a cast-iron pan over medium-high flame. Add a shot of olive oil, add the chopped onion seasoned with salt, fry until softened. Mix in garlic, ginger, and spices, let them sizzle, stirring occasionally for three to four minutes, add coconut milk along with chickpeas and liquid. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and leave it to tick over about 35 minutes, when sauce is rich and yellow. Season with salt, then stir in the basil leaves.

With a spoon’s back forming small wells across the base, break eggs into each. Sprinkle the top of each egg lightly salted, then cover the pan with a lid, simmer over low heat for two to three minutes, until the whites are set and yolks warmed. Take off the heat, finish with a few extra basil leaves and sliced chilies, and serve.

Merguez Ragu with Tangy Peppers Baked Eggs

Preparation Quick prep
Cook Under an hour
Yields 2

Olive oil
Spicy lamb sausages
Harissa paste
1 tsp cumin seeds
Garlic cloves, minced garlic
Tomato base
Seasoning
4 eggs
Tangy peppers, diced
Chopped herbs, diced
3 tbsp thick Greek yoghurt
1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

Use a heavy pan on a medium heat. Add two tablespoons of olive oil once hot, take off sausage casings forming small bits adding to pan, like mini balls. Reduce heat, brown the meat slowly, extracting spicy fats. Roll the merguez pieces around the pan while cooking, so they colour on all sides.

When golden, mix in spices and garlic to the pot, turn up the heat to medium sauté while stirring, for several minutes, when fragrant, and garlic softens. Add tomatoes, salt to taste and bring to a simmer. Turn down the heat to low cooking gently for twenty minutes. Ragu thickens, intensify in color, with oils separating and surfacing.

Use the back of a spoon to create four little pockets within sauce, add eggs individually. Sprinkle the top of each egg lightly salted, then cover the pan with a lid. Cook for two to three minutes on low flame, when eggs set and the yolks just warm.

Turn off stove, garnish with peppers, parsley, a blob of yoghurt, and oil splash, accompanied by lemon.