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So, hear me out: the most delicious egg dishes are made without baking. When testing these recipes, discovering that covering the pan produces a humid atmosphere to cook the top of the eggs, resulting in perfectly cooked delicately prepared egg with a tender white plus liquid yolk. The harsh, arid temperature of the oven is much more aggressive compared to steaming, and has a tendency making dishes dry and overcook the yolk. I’ve given you two sauces as a jumping-off point, but get creative. Option one involves a straightforward coconut turmeric blend, whereas the spicy sausage sauce puts a twist on eggs in purgatory, essentially, eggs cooked in zesty tomato base.

Turmeric Coconut Curry Baked Eggs (pictured above)

Preparation A quick 10 minutes
Cook Just under an hour
Serves Two servings

Extra virgin oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
Sea salt
Two garlic cloves, minced garlic
Fresh ginger root, grated ginger
1 tbsp ground turmeric
Toasted cumin
6-8 curry leaves
200ml coconut milk
Canned chickpeas
Fresh basil, and additional for topping
Four eggs
Fresh chilies, julienned, for serving

Use a heavy skillet at moderate-high temperature. Drizzle olive oil, toss in the onion with some salt, fry until softened. Add the garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin seeds and curry leaves, leave to sizzle, stirring occasionally for three to four minutes, then tip in the coconut milk including chickpea can contents. Let it bubble, then turn down to a simmer, and leave it to tick over for half an hour, until thick and golden. Adjust seasoning, mix in fresh basil.

Use the back of a spoon to create four little pockets across the base, add eggs individually. Season eggs lightly salted, place a lid on the pan, simmer over low heat for a few minutes, until egg whites firm with yolks still runny. Take off the heat, finish with a few extra basil leaves and thinly sliced finger chillies, and serve.

Spicy Sausage Sauce with Tangy Peppers Steamed Eggs

Prep 10 min
Cooking time 45 minutes
Yields Two portions

Olive oil
2 merguez-style lamb sausages
1 tbsp harissa
Toasted cumin
2 garlic cloves, minced garlic
Tomato base
Seasoning
Four eggs
1 handful pickled peppers, coarsely cut
Chopped herbs, diced
3 tbsp thick Greek yoghurt
1 lemon, wedge-cut, for serving

Use a heavy pan at moderate temperature. Drizzle olive oil and, once it’s warm, peel sausages forming small bits adding to pan, like mini balls. Turn down the heat, brown the meat slowly, extracting spicy fats. Move sausage pieces during cooking, for even browning.

After browning, add the harissa, cumin seeds and sliced garlic to the pot, turn up the heat to medium fry with mixing, for several minutes, when fragrant, and garlic softens. Add tomatoes, salt to taste heat to simmer. Turn down the heat to low and leave to blip away about 20 minutes. Sauce will thicken, intensify in color, while the oils split and rise to the top.

Employ utensil making indentations across base, then crack an egg into each. Season eggs lightly salted, then cover the pan with a lid. Heat for minutes gently, until whites firm and the yolks just warm.

Remove from heat, top with pickled peppers, parsley and yogurt, and oil splash, and serve with lemon wedges.