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So, hear me out: the best baked eggs never require an oven. When testing these recipes, I found that simply adding a lid creates a steamy environment to cook the top of the eggs, yielding tender perfectly poached egg with a tender white and a warm, runny yolk. The intense, dry heat from baking acts stronger 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, and the second offers a merguez ragu reimagines eggs in purgatory, or simply put, spicy tomato eggs.

Turmeric Coconut Curry Baked Eggs (shown above)

Preparation 10 minutes
Cooking time 55 min
Yields Two servings

Extra virgin oil
1 onion, trimmed and minced
Sea salt
Two garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
10g fresh ginger, minced ginger
Turmeric powder
Toasted cumin
Aromatic leaves
Coconut milk
400g tin chickpeas
A few basil leaves, plus extra to serve
Fresh eggs
2 green finger chillies, julienned, as garnish

Heat a cast-iron pan on a medium-high heat. Add a shot of olive oil, toss in the onion with some salt, and cook for five to six minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin seeds and curry leaves, allow to cook, mixing now and then briefly, then tip in the coconut milk including chickpea can contents. Let it bubble, lower heat to gentle cook, and leave it to tick over about 35 minutes, until thickened and deep yellow in colour. Add salt to taste, mix in fresh basil.

With a spoon’s back forming small wells within the sauce, add eggs individually. Dust each egg with a little salt, place a lid on the pan, and cook on a low heat briefly, until egg whites firm and the yolks just warm. Remove from heat, garnish with more basil and sliced chilies, then serve immediately.

Merguez Ragu and Pickled Peppers Baked Eggs

Preparation 10 minutes
Cooking time 45 min
Yields Two portions

Olive oil
Spicy lamb sausages
1 tbsp harissa
1 tsp cumin seeds
Garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
Canned tomatoes
Seasoning
4 eggs
Pickled peppers, roughly chopped
Chopped herbs, minced
Greek yogurt
1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

Heat a skillet at moderate temperature. Drizzle olive oil once hot, remove the skins from the sausages forming small bits into the skillet, resembling tiny meatballs. Reduce heat, then slowly brown the sausagemeat, so it renders out all that spicy, flavour-packed fat. Move sausage pieces during cooking, so they colour on all sides.

When golden, mix in spices and garlic into the skillet, adjust to moderate flame fry with mixing, briefly, when fragrant, and the garlic has lost its raw edge. Tip in the tomatoes, salt to taste let it bubble. Reduce to low heat cooking gently for 20 minutes. The ragu will reduce, become richer and darker, with oils separating and surfacing.

Use the back of a spoon forming wells across base, break eggs in. Season eggs with salt, place lid on pan. Simmer briefly on low flame, until the whites are set with yolks runny.

Turn off stove, garnish with peppers, herbs, yogurt dollop, and a drizzle of oil, accompanied by lemon.