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Consider this: the most delicious egg dishes are made without baking. During recipe development, I found that simply adding a lid creates a steamy environment for cooking the egg tops, delivering a gently cooked perfectly poached egg with firm whites and a warm, runny yolk. The harsh, arid temperature of the oven proves harsher than steam, typically causing to dry everything out and harden the yolk. Presenting two flavorful bases as inspiration, encouraging customization. The first features an easy coconut turmeric blend, whereas the spicy sausage sauce reimagines traditional spicy eggs, essentially, spicy tomato eggs.

Turmeric Coconut Curry Steamed Eggs (shown above)

Preparation 10 minutes
Cooking time 55 minutes
Yields 2

Olive oil
One medium onion, trimmed and minced
Salt
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
10g fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
Golden spice
½ tbsp cumin seeds
Aromatic leaves
Creamy coconut
400g tin chickpeas
Fresh basil, and additional for topping
Fresh eggs
2 green finger chillies, finely sliced, for serving

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot at moderate-high temperature. Pour in some oil, add the chopped onion and a pinch of salt, fry until softened. Mix in garlic, ginger, and spices, allow to cook, occasionally stirring briefly, then tip in the coconut milk including chickpea can contents. Heat until boiling, then turn down to a simmer, and leave it to tick over for 30-35 minutes, when sauce is rich and yellow. Season with salt, then stir in the basil leaves.

With a spoon’s back making four indentations across the base, add eggs individually. Season eggs lightly salted, cover the skillet, and cook on a low heat for two to three minutes, when whites are cooked with yolks still runny. Remove from heat, top with fresh herbs and thinly sliced finger chillies, and serve.

Spicy Sausage Sauce with Tangy Peppers Steamed Eggs

Prep 10 minutes
Cooking time Under an hour
Serves Two

Olive oil
Merguez sausages
1 tbsp harissa
Cumin seeds
2 garlic cloves, sliced thin
Tomato base
Fine sea salt
Four eggs
Pickled peppers, diced
Chopped herbs, diced
Greek yogurt
Fresh lemon, wedge-cut, as garnish

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot over medium flame. Drizzle olive oil when heated, take off sausage casings forming small bits of the meat into the pan, almost like little meatballs. Reduce heat, brown the meat slowly, releasing flavorful oils. Roll the merguez pieces around the pan during cooking, to brown evenly.

After browning, mix in spices and garlic to the pan, increase to medium heat and cook, stirring, briefly, until the mix smells fragrant, and garlic softens. Tip in the tomatoes, salt to taste let it bubble. Lower to gentle simmer and leave to blip away for 20 minutes. Ragu thickens, intensify in color, as oils separate.

With a spoon making indentations across base, break eggs in. Dust with salt with salt, cover skillet. Heat for minutes on low flame, when eggs set and yolks warmed.

Take off the heat, garnish with peppers, parsley and yogurt, plus oil drizzle, accompanied by lemon.