Turmeric Coconut Curry and Spicy Sausage Sauce: Ben Lippett's Baked Eggs Recipes

Let me explain: the most delicious egg dishes are made without baking. During recipe development, discovering that covering the pan produces a humid atmosphere to cook the top of the eggs, resulting in perfectly cooked delicately prepared egg with firm whites and a warm, runny yolk. The intense, dry heat of the oven acts stronger compared to steaming, and has a tendency making dishes dry and harden the yolk. I’ve given you two sauces as a jumping-off point, but get creative. Option one involves a straightforward turmeric coconut curry, while the merguez ragu reimagines eggs in purgatory, or, to the likes of you and me, spicy tomato eggs.

Golden Coconut Sauce Steamed Eggs (shown above)

Prep A quick 10 minutes
Cook 55 minutes
Yields Two servings

Olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
Salt
Two garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
Fresh ginger root, grated ginger
1 tbsp ground turmeric
Toasted cumin
6-8 curry leaves
200ml coconut milk
Canned chickpeas
Fresh basil, with more for garnish
Fresh eggs
Fresh chilies, thinly cut, to serve

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. Incorporate aromatics and spices, let them sizzle, mixing now and then for three to four minutes, pour in creamy liquid and the chickpeas and their tin liquid. Let it bubble, lower heat to gentle cook, let it simmer about 35 minutes, when sauce is rich and yellow. Season with salt, then stir in the basil leaves.

Use the back of a spoon forming small wells within the sauce, add eggs individually. Sprinkle the top of each egg lightly salted, then cover the pan with a lid, simmer over low heat for a few minutes, when whites are cooked and the yolks just warm. Remove from heat, garnish with more basil and thinly sliced finger chillies, then serve immediately.

Merguez Ragu with Tangy Peppers Baked Eggs

Preparation Quick prep
Cook 45 minutes
Yields 2

Olive oil
Spicy lamb sausages
Harissa paste
Toasted cumin
Garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
400g good-quality tinned tomatoes
Salt
4 eggs
Tangy peppers, roughly chopped
Fresh parsley, finely chopped
Creamy yogurt
1 lemon, sliced into wedges, as garnish

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot at moderate temperature. Pour in oil when heated, peel sausages and pinch small amounts into the skillet, resembling tiny meatballs. Reduce heat, then slowly brown the sausagemeat, releasing flavorful oils. Roll the merguez pieces around the pan during cooking, to brown evenly.

Once browned, mix in spices and garlic to the pot, increase to medium heat and cook, stirring, for several minutes, when fragrant, and the garlic has lost its raw edge. Tip in the tomatoes, season with salt heat to simmer. Lower to gentle simmer and leave to blip away for twenty minutes. Sauce will thicken, thicken and deepen in colour, with oils separating and surfacing.

Employ utensil forming wells in the sauce, add eggs individually. Season eggs with a little salt, cover skillet. Cook for two to three minutes on low flame, until the whites are set with yolks runny.

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