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Consider this: the best baked eggs never require an oven. Through culinary experiments, discovering that covering the pan creates a steamy environment for cooking the egg tops, yielding tender delicately prepared egg with firm whites and flowing center. The harsh, arid temperature from baking proves harsher compared to steaming, typically causing to dehydrate ingredients and harden the yolk. Here are two sauce options to get started, though feel free to experiment. Option one involves a straightforward golden coconut sauce, whereas the spicy sausage sauce reimagines eggs in purgatory, or, to the likes of you and me, eggs cooked in zesty tomato base.

Golden Coconut Sauce Steamed Eggs (pictured above)

Prep 10 min
Cooking time 55 minutes
Serves Two servings

Olive oil
One medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
Salt
Two garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
Fresh ginger root, grated ginger
1 tbsp ground turmeric
½ tbsp cumin seeds
6-8 curry leaves
200ml coconut milk
400g tin chickpeas
A few basil leaves, plus extra to serve
Fresh eggs
Fresh chilies, julienned, for serving

Heat a cast-iron pan over medium-high flame. Add a shot of olive oil, incorporate onions seasoned with salt, sauté for several minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin seeds and curry leaves, leave to sizzle, occasionally stirring for three to four minutes, pour in creamy liquid and the chickpeas and their tin liquid. Bring to a boil, lower heat to gentle cook, allow to cook slowly for 30-35 minutes, until thickened and deep yellow in colour. Season with salt, incorporate basil.

Employ a utensil making four indentations across the base, break eggs into each. Dust each egg with a little salt, place a lid on the pan, simmer over low heat for two to three minutes, until egg whites firm and yolks warmed. Remove from heat, top with fresh herbs and sliced chilies, ready to enjoy.

Merguez Ragu with Tangy Peppers Steamed Eggs

Preparation 10 minutes
Cook 45 minutes
Yields Two portions

Olive oil
2 merguez-style lamb sausages
Spicy paste
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 garlic cloves, minced garlic
Canned tomatoes
Seasoning
Fresh eggs
Tangy peppers, diced
Fresh parsley, finely chopped
3 tbsp thick Greek yoghurt
1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve

Use a heavy pan at moderate temperature. Add two tablespoons of olive oil once hot, remove the skins from the sausages forming small bits of the meat into the pan, resembling tiny meatballs. Turn down the heat, then slowly brown the sausagemeat, extracting spicy fats. Move sausage pieces while cooking, for even browning.

When golden, incorporate harissa, cumin, and garlic to the pot, adjust to moderate flame sauté while stirring, briefly, until the mix smells fragrant, and the garlic has lost its raw edge. Tip in the tomatoes, season with salt heat to simmer. Turn down the heat to low and simmer slowly about 20 minutes. Ragu thickens, become richer and darker, as oils separate.

Employ utensil to create four little pockets within sauce, then crack an egg into each. Dust with salt with salt, then cover the pan with a lid. Simmer briefly gently, until the whites are set and yolks warmed.

Remove from heat, finish with chopped pickled peppers, parsley, a blob of yoghurt, and oil splash, with lemon on side.