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So, hear me out: the best baked eggs are made without baking. Through culinary experiments, I found that simply adding a lid creates a steamy environment that gently cooks the eggs, resulting in perfectly cooked perfectly poached egg with firm whites and a warm, runny yolk. Direct oven heat from baking acts stronger versus moist heat, typically causing to dry everything out and harden the yolk. Here are two sauce options as inspiration, encouraging customization. One is a super-simple golden coconut sauce, whereas the spicy sausage sauce reimagines classic tomato-baked eggs, or, to the likes of you and me, spicy tomato eggs.

Golden Coconut Sauce Steamed Eggs (pictured above)

Preparation 10 minutes
Cook Just under an hour
Serves Two servings

Extra virgin oil
1 onion, trimmed and minced
Sea salt
2 garlic cloves, minced garlic
Fresh ginger root, peeled and finely chopped
Turmeric powder
Cumin seeds
Curry leaves
Coconut milk
Chickpeas
A few basil leaves, with more for garnish
Four eggs
Green chilies, julienned, as garnish

Heat a cast-iron pan on a medium-high heat. Add a shot of olive oil, toss in the onion with some salt, fry until softened. Incorporate aromatics and spices, allow to cook, mixing now and then for a few minutes, then tip in the coconut milk and the chickpeas and their tin liquid. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer, and leave it to tick over about 35 minutes, when sauce is rich and yellow. Adjust seasoning, incorporate basil.

With a spoon’s back forming small wells in the sauce, then crack an egg into each. Sprinkle the top of each egg with salt, cover the skillet, and cook on a low heat briefly, until the whites are set and yolks warmed. Turn off stove, garnish with more basil and thinly sliced finger chillies, then serve immediately.

Spicy Sausage Sauce with Tangy Peppers Steamed Eggs

Preparation Quick prep
Cooking time Under an hour
Yields Two portions

Oil
Spicy lamb sausages
Harissa paste
Cumin seeds
2 garlic cloves, sliced thin
400g good-quality tinned tomatoes
Fine sea salt
Four eggs
1 handful pickled peppers, roughly chopped
Chopped herbs, minced
Greek yogurt
1 lemon, wedge-cut, for serving

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot on a medium heat. Pour in oil when heated, remove the skins from the sausages and break off pieces of the meat into the pan, like mini balls. Turn down the heat, then slowly brown the sausagemeat, extracting spicy fats. Move sausage pieces during cooking, to brown evenly.

When golden, incorporate harissa, cumin, and garlic into the skillet, increase to medium heat sauté while stirring, for several minutes, until the mix smells fragrant, and the garlic has lost its raw edge. Add tomatoes, salt to taste heat to simmer. Reduce to low heat cooking gently for 20 minutes. Sauce will thicken, become richer and darker, while the oils split and rise to the top.

Use the back of a spoon forming wells across base, add eggs individually. Season eggs with a little salt, place lid on pan. Simmer briefly on low flame, until the whites are set and the yolks just warm.

Turn off stove, top with pickled peppers, herbs, yogurt dollop, plus oil drizzle, with lemon on side.