🔗 Share this article

Consider this: the most delicious egg dishes don’t ever hit the oven. During recipe development, discovering that covering the pan creates a steamy environment that gently cooks the eggs, yielding tender delicately prepared egg featuring set whites and flowing center. The harsh, arid temperature in conventional ovens proves harsher than steam, often leading making dishes dry resulting in firm yolks. I’ve given you two sauces as inspiration, but get creative. Option one involves a straightforward turmeric coconut curry, and the second offers a merguez ragu is a riff on classic tomato-baked eggs, or simply put, spicy tomato eggs.

Golden Coconut Sauce Steamed Eggs (featured)

Prep 10 min
Cooking time Just under an hour
Serves Two servings

Olive oil
1 onion, trimmed and minced
Sea salt
Two garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
10g fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
Turmeric powder
½ tbsp cumin seeds
Curry leaves
Creamy coconut
400g tin chickpeas
Basil leaves, with more for garnish
Four eggs
Green chilies, finely sliced, as garnish

Use a heavy skillet on a medium-high heat. Pour in some oil, add the chopped onion and a pinch of salt, sauté for several minutes. Incorporate aromatics and spices, leave to sizzle, stirring occasionally for a few minutes, then tip in the coconut milk including chickpea can contents. Heat until boiling, reduce to a simmer, let it simmer about 35 minutes, until thick and golden. Adjust seasoning, then stir in the basil leaves.

Use the back of a spoon making four indentations in the sauce, add eggs individually. Season eggs lightly salted, place a lid on the pan, simmer over low heat for two to three minutes, until the whites are set and the yolks just warm. Turn off stove, top with fresh herbs and thinly sliced finger chillies, and serve.

Spicy Sausage Sauce and Pickled Peppers Steamed Eggs

Preparation 10 min
Cooking time 45 minutes
Yields 2

Oil
Merguez sausages
1 tbsp harissa
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
Canned tomatoes
Salt
Fresh eggs
1 handful pickled peppers, diced
1 small handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, minced
3 tbsp thick Greek yoghurt
Fresh lemon, wedge-cut, as garnish

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot over medium flame. Drizzle olive oil once hot, remove the skins from the sausages and break off pieces of the meat into the pan, like mini balls. Reduce heat, then slowly brown the sausagemeat, releasing flavorful oils. Roll the merguez pieces around the pan while cooking, so they colour on all sides.

When golden, add the harissa, cumin seeds and sliced garlic to the pan, adjust to moderate flame and cook, stirring, briefly, until aromatic, and garlic softens. Add tomatoes, salt to taste and bring to a simmer. Lower to gentle simmer cooking gently for 20 minutes. The ragu will reduce, intensify in color, with oils separating and surfacing.

Use the back of a spoon forming wells in the sauce, add eggs individually. Sprinkle the top of each egg with salt, cover skillet. Cook for two to three minutes over a low heat, until whites firm and the yolks just warm.

Turn off stove, top with pickled peppers, parsley and yogurt, and a drizzle of oil, accompanied by lemon.