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Consider this: the most delicious egg dishes don’t ever hit the oven. Through culinary experiments, realizing that using a cover produces a humid atmosphere that gently cooks the eggs, resulting in perfectly cooked perfectly poached egg with firm whites and a warm, runny yolk. The harsh, arid temperature of the oven is much more aggressive versus moist heat, typically causing to dehydrate ingredients resulting in firm yolks. Here are two sauce options as a jumping-off point, encouraging customization. Option one involves a straightforward golden coconut sauce, and the second offers a merguez ragu reimagines classic tomato-baked eggs, essentially, eggs baked in spicy tomato sauce.

Golden Coconut Sauce Steamed Eggs (featured)

Preparation 10 minutes
Cook 55 min
Yields 2

Extra virgin oil
1 onion, trimmed and minced
Fine sea salt
Two garlic cloves, minced garlic
10g fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
Golden spice
Cumin seeds
Aromatic leaves
Creamy coconut
Canned chickpeas
A few basil leaves, with more for garnish
Fresh eggs
2 green finger chillies, thinly cut, to serve

Heat a cast-iron pan over medium-high flame. Drizzle olive oil, add the chopped onion and a pinch of salt, sauté for several minutes. Mix in garlic, ginger, and spices, allow to cook, mixing now and then briefly, then tip in the coconut milk and the chickpeas and their tin liquid. Heat until boiling, reduce to a simmer, let it simmer about 35 minutes, when sauce is rich and yellow. Add salt to taste, mix in fresh basil.

Use the back of a spoon to create four little pockets within the sauce, then crack an egg into each. Dust each egg lightly salted, place a lid on the pan, simmer over low heat for a few minutes, until egg whites firm and yolks warmed. Remove from heat, top with fresh herbs plus chili slices, then serve immediately.

Merguez Ragu and Pickled Peppers Steamed Eggs

Preparation Quick prep
Cook 45 minutes
Serves Two portions

Olive oil
2 merguez-style lamb sausages
Harissa paste
Toasted cumin
2 garlic cloves, minced garlic
400g good-quality tinned tomatoes
Salt
4 eggs
Pickled peppers, roughly chopped
Fresh parsley, minced
Greek yogurt
1 lemon, wedge-cut, as garnish

Heat a skillet over medium flame. Add two tablespoons of olive oil once hot, take off sausage casings forming small bits adding to pan, resembling tiny meatballs. Turn down the heat, cook until golden, releasing flavorful oils. Move sausage pieces while cooking, for even browning.

After browning, add the harissa, cumin seeds and sliced garlic to the pan, increase to medium heat and cook, stirring, briefly, until the mix smells fragrant, with garlic cooked. Add tomatoes, add seasoning let it bubble. Lower to gentle simmer and leave to blip away for twenty minutes. Sauce will thicken, thicken and deepen in colour, with oils separating and surfacing.

Employ utensil to create four little pockets within sauce, add eggs individually. Dust with salt lightly salted, cover skillet. Simmer briefly on low flame, until the whites are set with yolks runny.

Take off the heat, garnish with peppers, herbs, yogurt dollop, plus oil drizzle, with lemon on side.