Turmeric Coconut Curry and Spicy Sausage Sauce: Ben Lippett's Oven-Free Egg Dishes Recipes

Let me explain: the best baked eggs are made without baking. When testing these recipes, realizing that using a cover creates a steamy environment that gently cooks the eggs, resulting in perfectly cooked perfectly poached egg featuring set whites and a warm, runny yolk. Direct oven heat from baking proves harsher than steam, and has a tendency making dishes dry and harden the yolk. Presenting two flavorful bases as inspiration, encouraging customization. One is a super-simple 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, spicy tomato eggs.

Turmeric Coconut Curry Steamed Eggs (shown above)

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

Olive oil
1 onion, skinned and diced
Fine sea salt
2 garlic cloves, minced garlic
10g fresh ginger, minced ginger
Turmeric powder
Cumin seeds
Curry leaves
Coconut milk
Canned chickpeas
Fresh basil, plus extra to serve
Four eggs
2 green finger chillies, julienned, as garnish

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot over medium-high flame. Pour in some oil, toss in the onion and a pinch of salt, and cook for five to six minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin seeds and curry leaves, leave to sizzle, mixing now and then for three to four minutes, add coconut milk along with chickpeas and liquid. Bring to a boil, lower heat to gentle cook, let it simmer about 35 minutes, until thickened and deep yellow in colour. Adjust seasoning, mix in fresh basil.

Use the back of a spoon to create four little pockets within the sauce, break eggs into each. Season eggs with a little salt, cover the skillet, gently heat for two to three minutes, until the whites are set with yolks still runny. Remove from heat, finish with a few extra basil leaves and sliced chilies, and serve.

Merguez Ragu and Pickled Peppers Steamed Eggs

Prep Quick prep
Cooking time 45 min
Serves Two

Oil
Spicy lamb sausages
Spicy paste
Toasted cumin
2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
Canned tomatoes
Fine sea salt
Fresh eggs
Pickled peppers, roughly chopped
Fresh parsley, finely chopped
Greek yogurt
1 lemon, wedge-cut, to serve

Use a heavy pan over medium flame. Pour in oil once hot, remove the skins from the sausages and break off pieces of the meat into the pan, almost like little meatballs. Lower temperature, then slowly brown the sausagemeat, extracting spicy fats. Move sausage pieces while cooking, for even browning.

When golden, add the harissa, cumin seeds and sliced garlic to the pan, adjust to moderate flame and cook, stirring, for three to four minutes, until the mix smells fragrant, and garlic softens. Add tomatoes, season with salt let it bubble. Turn down the heat to low cooking gently about 20 minutes. Sauce will thicken, thicken and deepen in colour, as oils separate.

Employ utensil to create four little pockets in the sauce, break eggs in. Dust with salt with a little salt, place lid on pan. Simmer briefly gently, until the whites are set with yolks runny.

Take off the heat, top with pickled peppers, parsley, a blob of yoghurt, and oil splash, accompanied by lemon.