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Consider this: the best baked eggs never require an oven. Through culinary experiments, realizing that using a cover produces a humid atmosphere that gently cooks the eggs, resulting in perfectly cooked perfectly poached egg featuring set whites and a warm, runny yolk. Direct oven heat in conventional ovens proves harsher versus moist heat, and has a tendency to dry everything out resulting in firm yolks. I’ve given you two sauces as inspiration, encouraging customization. The first features an easy turmeric coconut curry, and the second offers a merguez ragu puts a twist on traditional spicy eggs, or, to the likes of you and me, eggs cooked in zesty tomato base.

Turmeric Coconut Curry Steamed Eggs (shown above)

Prep 10 minutes
Cooking time 55 min
Yields Two servings

Olive oil
One medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
Fine sea salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
10g fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
Turmeric powder
Cumin seeds
Aromatic leaves
200ml coconut milk
400g tin chickpeas
A few basil leaves, plus extra to serve
Fresh eggs
2 green finger chillies, finely sliced, for serving

Heat a cast-iron pan over medium-high flame. Add a shot of olive oil, incorporate onions with some salt, and cook for five to six minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin seeds and curry leaves, let them sizzle, mixing now and then briefly, then tip in the coconut milk and the chickpeas and their tin liquid. Heat until boiling, lower heat to gentle cook, and leave it to tick over for 30-35 minutes, until thick and golden. Adjust seasoning, then stir in the basil leaves.

Employ a utensil making four indentations across the base, then crack an egg into each. Dust each egg with salt, cover the skillet, and cook on a low heat briefly, until egg whites firm with yolks still runny. Take off the heat, top with fresh herbs plus chili slices, ready to enjoy.

Spicy Sausage Sauce with Tangy Peppers Baked Eggs

Prep 10 minutes
Cook 45 min
Yields Two portions

Olive oil
Spicy lamb sausages
Harissa paste
Toasted cumin
2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
400g good-quality tinned tomatoes
Salt
4 eggs
Pickled peppers, roughly chopped
Fresh parsley, minced
Creamy yogurt
1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve

Heat a skillet at moderate temperature. Pour in oil and, once it’s warm, take off sausage casings and break off pieces into the skillet, like mini balls. Reduce heat, then slowly brown the sausagemeat, so it renders out all that spicy, flavour-packed fat. Move sausage pieces while cooking, to brown evenly.

Once browned, mix in spices and garlic to the pan, increase to medium heat and cook, stirring, for several minutes, until the mix smells fragrant, and garlic softens. Add tomatoes, salt to taste heat to simmer. Lower to gentle simmer and leave to blip away for 20 minutes. The ragu will reduce, intensify in color, with oils separating and surfacing.

With a spoon making indentations within sauce, break eggs in. Dust with salt with salt, place lid on pan. Simmer briefly on low flame, until whites firm and yolks warmed.

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