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So, hear me out: the most delicious egg dishes don’t ever hit the oven. During recipe development, discovering that covering the pan creates a steamy environment for cooking the egg tops, delivering a gently cooked delicately prepared egg featuring set whites and a warm, runny yolk. The intense, dry heat from baking acts stronger compared to steaming, and has a tendency making dishes dry and harden the yolk. I’ve given you two sauces as inspiration, though feel free to experiment. One is a super-simple golden coconut sauce, and the second offers a merguez ragu puts a twist on eggs in purgatory, or, to the likes of you and me, spicy tomato eggs.

Turmeric Coconut Curry Steamed Eggs (pictured above)

Preparation 10 minutes
Cooking time 55 min
Serves 2

Extra virgin oil
One medium onion, trimmed and minced
Salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
10g fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
Turmeric powder
Toasted cumin
Curry leaves
200ml coconut milk
Canned chickpeas
A few basil leaves, plus extra to serve
Fresh eggs
2 green finger chillies, julienned, to serve

Use a heavy skillet over medium-high flame. Drizzle olive oil, toss in the onion and a pinch of salt, fry until softened. Add the garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin seeds and curry leaves, let them sizzle, occasionally stirring briefly, add coconut milk along with chickpeas and liquid. Heat until boiling, reduce to a simmer, let it simmer about 35 minutes, until thick and golden. Add salt to taste, incorporate basil.

With a spoon’s back making four indentations across the base, break eggs into each. Season eggs with a little salt, cover the skillet, simmer over low heat briefly, until the whites are set and yolks warmed. Remove from heat, top with fresh herbs and sliced chilies, then serve immediately.

Spicy Sausage Sauce and Pickled Peppers Baked Eggs

Prep Quick prep
Cook 45 min
Yields Two portions

Oil
Merguez sausages
Spicy paste
Toasted cumin
2 garlic cloves, sliced thin
Tomato base
Fine sea salt
Fresh eggs
1 handful pickled peppers, roughly chopped
1 small handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, diced
Creamy yogurt
1 lemon, sliced into wedges, to serve

Use a heavy pan at moderate temperature. Pour in oil and, once it’s warm, take off sausage casings and pinch small amounts adding to pan, like mini balls. Turn down the heat, then slowly brown the sausagemeat, so it renders out all that spicy, flavour-packed fat. Roll the merguez pieces around the pan as they cook, to brown evenly.

When golden, add the harissa, cumin seeds and sliced garlic to the pot, turn up the heat to medium and cook, stirring, for three to four minutes, until aromatic, with garlic cooked. Pour in tomato contents, season with salt let it bubble. Turn down the heat to low and simmer slowly for 20 minutes. The ragu will reduce, intensify in color, as oils separate.

With a spoon forming wells in the sauce, then crack an egg into each. Sprinkle the top of each egg lightly salted, then cover the pan with a lid. Cook for two to three minutes over a low heat, until whites firm with yolks runny.

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