So, hear me out: the best baked eggs don’t ever hit the oven … When testing these recipes, I found that simply adding a lid creates a steamy environment to cook the top of the eggs, delivering a gently cooked, perfectly poached egg with a tender white and a warm, runny yolk. The intense, dry heat of the oven is much more aggressive than steam, and has a tendency to dry everything out and overcook the yolk. I’ve given you two sauces as a jumping-off point, but get creative. One is a super-simple turmeric coconut curry, while the merguez ragu is a riff on eggs in purgatory, or, to the likes of you and me, eggs baked in spicy tomato sauce.

Turmeric coconut curry baked eggs (pictured above)

Prep 10 min Cook 55 min Serves 2

Olive oil 1 onion,** peeled and finely chopped Fine sea salt 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped 10g fresh ginger**,** peeled and finely chopped 1 tbsp ground turmeric ½ tbsp cumin seeds 6-8 curry leaves 200ml coconut milk 400g tin chickpeas**** A few basil leaves, plus extra to serve 4 eggs 2 green finger chillies**, finely sliced, to serve

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot or frying pan on a medium-high heat. Add a shot of olive oil, toss in the onion and a pinch of salt, and cook for five to six minutes, until the onion is starting to crisp and caramelise. Add the garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin seeds and curry leaves, leave to sizzle, stirring occasionally, for three to four minutes, then tip in the coconut milk and the chickpeas and their tin liquid. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and leave it to tick over for 30-35 minutes, until thickened and deep yellow in colour. Season with salt, then stir in the basil leaves.

Use the back of a spoon to create four little pockets in the sauce, then crack an egg into each. Sprinkle the top of each egg with a little salt, then cover the pan with a lid and cook on a low heat for two to three minutes, until the whites are set and the yolks just warm. Take off the heat, finish with a few extra basil leaves and thinly sliced finger chillies, and serve.

Merguez ragu and pickled peppers baked eggs

Ben Lippett’s merguez ragu and pickled peppers baked eggs.

Prep 10 min Cook 45 min Serves 2

Olive oil 2 merguez-style lamb sausages 1 tbsp harissa** 1 tsp cumin seeds 2 garlic cloves**,** peeled and thinly sliced 400g good-quality tinned tomatoes Fine sea salt 4 eggs 1 handful pickled peppers, roughly chopped 1 small handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped 3 tbsp thick Greek yoghurt 1 lemon, **cut into wedges, to serve

Set a 25cm heavy cast-iron pot or frying 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, almost like little meatballs. Turn down the heat, then slowly brown the sausagemeat so it renders out all that spicy, flavour-packed fat. Roll the merguez pieces around the pan as they cook, so they colour on all sides.

Once browned, add the harissa, cumin seeds and sliced garlic to the pan, turn up the heat to medium and cook, stirring, for three to four minutes, until the mix smells fragrant and the garlic has lost its raw edge. Tip in the tomatoes, season with salt and bring to a simmer. Turn down the heat to low and leave to blip away for 20 minutes. The ragu will reduce, thicken and deepen in colour, while the oils split and rise to the top of the pan.

Use the back of a spoon to create four little pockets in the sauce, then crack an egg into each. Sprinkle the top of each egg with a little salt, then cover the pan with a lid. Cook for two to three minutes over a low heat, until the whites are set and the yolks just warm.

Take off the heat, finish with chopped pickled peppers, parsley, a blob of yoghurt and a drizzle of oil, and serve with lemon wedges.

These recipes are edited extracts from How I Cook: A Chef’s Guide to Really Good Home Cooking, by Ben Lippett, published by Harper NonFiction at £26. To order a copy for £23.40, visit guardianbookshop.com