🔗 Share this article

Let me explain: the best baked eggs are made without baking. Through culinary experiments, I found that simply adding a lid generates steam to cook the top of the eggs, delivering a gently cooked delicately prepared egg with a tender white and flowing center. Direct oven heat in conventional ovens acts stronger than steam, often leading to dry everything out and overcook the yolk. I’ve given you two sauces as inspiration, but get creative. The first features an easy coconut turmeric blend, whereas the spicy sausage sauce is a riff on classic tomato-baked eggs, or simply put, eggs cooked in zesty tomato base.

Golden Coconut Sauce Baked Eggs (pictured above)

Preparation 10 minutes
Cooking time 55 minutes
Serves Two servings

Olive oil
One medium onion, skinned and diced
Salt
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
10g fresh ginger, grated ginger
1 tbsp ground turmeric
Cumin seeds
6-8 curry leaves
200ml coconut milk
Chickpeas
A few basil leaves, with more for garnish
Four eggs
Green chilies, thinly cut, for serving

Heat a cast-iron pan over medium-high flame. Pour in some oil, incorporate onions with some salt, fry until softened. Mix in garlic, ginger, and spices, allow to cook, stirring occasionally for three to four minutes, add coconut milk and the chickpeas and their tin liquid. Let it bubble, then turn down to a simmer, allow to cook slowly for 30-35 minutes, until thickened and deep yellow in colour. Season with salt, then stir in the basil leaves.

Employ a utensil to create four little pockets within the sauce, break eggs into each. Sprinkle the top of each egg with a little salt, place a lid on the pan, gently heat briefly, until the whites are set with yolks still runny. Remove from heat, top with fresh herbs and sliced chilies, then serve immediately.

Merguez Ragu and Pickled Peppers Steamed Eggs

Preparation Quick prep
Cook 45 minutes
Yields 2

Olive oil
2 merguez-style lamb sausages
Harissa paste
1 tsp cumin seeds
Garlic cloves, minced garlic
400g good-quality tinned tomatoes
Fine sea salt
4 eggs
Tangy peppers, roughly chopped
1 small handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Greek yogurt
Fresh lemon, wedge-cut, for serving

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot over medium flame. Pour in oil and, once it’s warm, take off sausage casings and pinch small amounts of the meat into the pan, like mini balls. Reduce heat, brown the meat slowly, extracting spicy fats. Stir merguez during cooking, to brown evenly.

After browning, incorporate harissa, cumin, and garlic into the skillet, increase to medium heat fry with mixing, for three to four minutes, until the mix smells fragrant, with garlic cooked. Add tomatoes, salt to taste heat to simmer. Lower to gentle simmer and simmer slowly for twenty minutes. Sauce will thicken, intensify in color, with oils separating and surfacing.

With a spoon forming wells across base, break eggs in. Sprinkle the top of each egg with salt, then cover the pan with a lid. Cook for two to three minutes gently, until whites firm and the yolks just warm.

Remove from heat, finish with chopped pickled peppers, herbs, yogurt dollop, and oil splash, accompanied by lemon.