🔗 Share this article Turmeric Coconut Curry and Merguez Ragu: The Chef's Oven-Free Egg Dishes Recipes Let me explain: the best baked eggs never require an oven. During recipe development, I found that simply adding a lid produces a humid atmosphere to cook the top of the eggs, yielding tender delicately prepared egg with a tender white and flowing center. Direct oven heat of the oven is much more aggressive than steam, often leading making dishes dry and harden the yolk. Presenting two flavorful bases as a jumping-off point, encouraging customization. The first features an easy golden coconut sauce, while the merguez ragu puts a twist on traditional spicy eggs, or simply put, eggs cooked in zesty tomato base. Golden Coconut Sauce Baked Eggs (shown above) Prep 10 min Cooking time 55 min Yields Two people Extra virgin oil One medium onion, trimmed and mincedFine sea salt 2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped 10g fresh ginger, grated ginger 1 tbsp ground turmeric Cumin seeds Curry leaves Creamy coconut Chickpeas A few basil leaves, plus extra to serve Fresh eggs Fresh chilies, julienned, to serve Heat a cast-iron pan at moderate-high temperature. Add a shot of olive oil, toss in the onion and a pinch of salt, sauté for several minutes. Incorporate aromatics and spices, let them sizzle, stirring occasionally briefly, pour in creamy liquid along with chickpeas and liquid. Bring to a boil, lower heat to gentle cook, allow to cook slowly about 35 minutes, when sauce is rich and yellow. Season with salt, incorporate basil. Use the back of a spoon forming small wells across the base, then crack an egg into each. Dust each egg lightly salted, then cover the pan with a lid, simmer over low heat briefly, when whites are cooked and the yolks just warm. Remove from heat, finish with a few extra basil leaves and thinly sliced finger chillies, then serve immediately. Merguez Ragu with Tangy Peppers Baked Eggs Prep 10 min Cooking time Under an hour Yields Two portions Oil Spicy lamb sausages 1 tbsp harissa 1 tsp cumin seeds Garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced400g good-quality tinned tomatoes Seasoning 4 eggsPickled peppers, dicedChopped herbs, finely chopped Creamy yogurt 1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving Use a heavy pan on a medium heat. Add two tablespoons of olive oil and, once it’s warm, remove the skins from the sausages and pinch small amounts of the meat into the pan, like mini balls. Turn down the heat, then slowly brown the sausagemeat, releasing flavorful oils. Move sausage pieces during cooking, to brown evenly. Once browned, incorporate harissa, cumin, and garlic to the pot, turn up the heat to medium fry with mixing, for several minutes, until aromatic, and the garlic has lost its raw edge. Add tomatoes, add seasoning heat to simmer. Turn down the heat to low and leave to blip away about 20 minutes. The ragu will reduce, intensify in color, as oils separate. Employ utensil forming wells within sauce, add eggs individually. Dust with salt lightly salted, place lid on pan. Cook for two to three minutes on low flame, until the whites are set and the yolks just warm. Take off the heat, finish with chopped pickled peppers, parsley and yogurt, and oil splash, accompanied by lemon.