Coconut Turmeric Curry and Spicy Sausage Sauce: The Chef's Oven-Free Egg Dishes Cooking Methods

Let me explain: the best baked eggs never require an oven. When testing these recipes, realizing that using a cover creates a steamy environment for cooking the egg tops, delivering a gently cooked perfectly poached egg featuring set whites and a warm, runny yolk. Direct oven heat of the oven acts stronger than steam, and has a tendency making dishes dry and overcook the yolk. Presenting two flavorful bases as a jumping-off point, encouraging customization. The first features an easy turmeric coconut curry, while the merguez ragu reimagines traditional spicy eggs, or simply put, eggs cooked in zesty tomato base.

Golden Coconut Sauce Steamed Eggs (pictured above)

Preparation 10 minutes
Cooking time Just under an hour
Serves 2

Olive oil
One medium onion, skinned and diced
Fine sea salt
Two garlic cloves, minced garlic
Fresh ginger root, minced ginger
1 tbsp ground turmeric
Cumin seeds
Curry leaves
Creamy coconut
400g tin chickpeas
Basil leaves, plus extra to serve
Four eggs
Fresh chilies, julienned, for serving

Heat a cast-iron pan on a medium-high heat. Add a shot of olive oil, toss in the onion and a pinch of salt, and cook for five to six minutes. Incorporate aromatics and spices, allow to cook, mixing now and then for a few minutes, add coconut milk along with chickpeas and liquid. Let it bubble, lower heat to gentle cook, allow to cook slowly for half an hour, until thickened and deep yellow in colour. Add salt to taste, then stir in the basil leaves.

With a spoon’s back forming small wells across the base, then crack an egg into each. Dust each egg with a little salt, then cover the pan with a lid, simmer over low heat briefly, until egg whites firm and the yolks just warm. Take off the heat, top with fresh herbs plus chili slices, ready to enjoy.

Merguez Ragu and Pickled Peppers Steamed Eggs

Prep 10 min
Cooking time 45 min
Serves 2

Olive oil
Merguez sausages
1 tbsp harissa
Toasted cumin
2 garlic cloves, sliced thin
Canned tomatoes
Fine sea salt
4 eggs
Pickled peppers, coarsely cut
Chopped herbs, diced
3 tbsp thick Greek yoghurt
1 lemon, sliced into wedges, as garnish

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot at moderate temperature. Pour in oil once hot, take off sausage casings and pinch small amounts of the meat into the pan, like mini balls. Reduce heat, then slowly brown the sausagemeat, so it renders out all that spicy, flavour-packed fat. Roll the merguez pieces around the pan during cooking, for even browning.

When golden, incorporate harissa, cumin, and garlic to the pot, increase to medium heat fry with mixing, for several minutes, when fragrant, and the garlic has lost its raw edge. Pour in tomato contents, salt to taste heat to simmer. Turn down the heat to low and leave to blip away about 20 minutes. The ragu will reduce, thicken and deepen in colour, as oils separate.

Use the back of a spoon making indentations within sauce, add eggs individually. Dust with salt with a little salt, place lid on pan. Cook for two to three minutes on low flame, until whites firm and yolks warmed.

Turn off stove, finish with chopped pickled peppers, parsley, a blob of yoghurt, plus oil drizzle, and serve with lemon wedges.