Turmeric Coconut Curry and Spicy Sausage Sauce: The Chef's Baked Eggs Recipes

Consider this: the most delicious egg dishes are made without baking. When testing these recipes, discovering that covering the pan produces a humid atmosphere that gently cooks the eggs, delivering a gently cooked soft-cooked egg featuring set whites and flowing center. The harsh, arid temperature in conventional ovens proves harsher versus moist heat, and has a tendency to dry everything out and harden the yolk. Presenting two flavorful bases to get started, encouraging customization. The first features an easy coconut turmeric blend, while the merguez ragu reimagines eggs in purgatory, or, to the likes of you and me, eggs cooked in zesty tomato base.

Golden Coconut Sauce Steamed Eggs (shown above)

Preparation 10 minutes
Cook 55 min
Serves Two people

Extra virgin oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
Salt
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
10g fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 tbsp ground turmeric
½ tbsp cumin seeds
Curry leaves
Creamy coconut
Chickpeas
Fresh basil, plus extra to serve
4 eggs
Green chilies, thinly cut, for serving

Use a heavy skillet at moderate-high temperature. Add a shot of olive oil, incorporate onions seasoned with salt, sauté for several minutes. Incorporate aromatics and spices, leave to sizzle, mixing now and then for three to four minutes, then tip in the coconut milk including chickpea can contents. Let it bubble, reduce to a simmer, let it simmer about 35 minutes, when sauce is rich and yellow. Season with salt, mix in fresh basil.

Employ a utensil making four indentations across the base, break eggs into each. Dust each egg with salt, place a lid on the pan, simmer over low heat for a few minutes, until egg whites firm and the yolks just warm. Turn off stove, garnish with more basil and sliced chilies, and serve.

Spicy Sausage Sauce and Pickled Peppers Steamed Eggs

Preparation 10 minutes
Cooking time 45 minutes
Serves Two

Oil
Spicy lamb sausages
Spicy paste
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 garlic cloves, minced garlic
400g good-quality tinned tomatoes
Fine sea salt
4 eggs
Pickled peppers, roughly chopped
Chopped herbs, diced
3 tbsp thick Greek yoghurt
1 lemon, wedge-cut, for serving

Use a heavy pan at moderate temperature. Pour in oil once hot, peel sausages forming small bits into the skillet, resembling tiny meatballs. Reduce heat, cook until golden, so it renders out all that spicy, flavour-packed fat. Roll the merguez pieces around the pan during cooking, so they colour on all sides.

Once browned, incorporate harissa, cumin, and garlic into the skillet, turn up the heat to medium 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 leave to blip away for twenty minutes. Sauce will thicken, become richer and darker, while the oils split and rise to the top.

With a spoon making indentations in the sauce, break eggs in. Dust with salt with salt, place lid on pan. Simmer briefly over a low heat, until whites firm and the yolks just warm.

Remove from heat, garnish with peppers, herbs, yogurt dollop, and a drizzle of oil, with lemon on side.