Nik Sharma’s recipes for spiced French onion soup and Indian-style Turkish eggs

While purists might scoff and find the combination of spices in my French onion soup a little blasphemous, do give it a shot. Nigella seeds are the best flavour-enhancer for onions, while using ghee instead of butter adds a warm, nutty, caramel flavour. Then, my Indian-inspired twist on çılbır, the classic Turkish breakfast of poached eggs with yoghurt. It features my go-to poached egg method, which I learned from Nigella Lawson.

Poached eggs with green chutney and yoghurt (pictured top)

Stirring the barely simmering water right before adding the egg creates a vortex, forcing the egg white to wrap around the yolk, cradling it and keeping it intact and compact.

Prep 10 min
Cook 35 min
Serves 2

For the green chutney
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
200g coriander, tender leaves and stems, plus a few sprigs to garnish
1 green chilli, such as bird’s eye, serrano or jalapeño
60ml ice-cold water
2-3 tbsp lime or lemon juice
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
1 tsp sugar, or honey or maple syrup, plus more as needed
Fine sea salt

For the yoghurt
480g plain full-fat Greek yoghurt
1-2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated
Fine sea salt

For the poached eggs
4 large eggs
4 tsp lemon juice
Toasted sourdough, preferably buttered or drizzled with olive oil, to serve

To make the chutney, toast the pumpkin seeds in a small, dry saucepan over medium heat, stirring often. After a minute, add the cumin seeds and continue toasting for a minute and a half to two minutes, until they turn fragrant and light brown (if they burn, discard them and start again). Put the pumpkin, cumin seeds, coriander, chilli, ice-cold water, lime juice, ginger, garlic and sugar in a blender, and blitz smooth; if need be, add a few more tablespoons of ice-cold water, one at a time, to loosen – the chutney should not be very runny. Taste and season with salt and more sugar as needed. The chutney can now be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.

Fill a medium saucepan with enough water to submerge a whole egg, bring it to a boil on a medium-high heat, then turn down the heat to a simmer. Put 2½cm water in a second medium saucepan and bring it to a low simmer.

To make the yoghurt, in a medium metal bowl, mix the yoghurt and garlic, then season with salt. Set the bowl over the second saucepan, and whisk for two or three minutes, until smooth and creamy. Spoon the yoghurt into two serving bowls.

For the poached eggs, crack one egg into a fine-mesh strainer set over a small bowl, and let the loose, liquid portion of the egg white drain for about 10 seconds. Gently transfer the remaining egg to a small bowl and add a teaspoon of lemon juice. Stir the simmering water in the first saucepan with a spoon – the water should barely be bubbling – then carefully slide in the egg. Repeat with the second egg. Leave the two eggs to poach undisturbed for three or four minutes, until the whites turn opaque, then, using a slotted spoon, lift out the eggs, allow any excess water to drain off, then place them on top of the yoghurt in the serving bowls. Repeat with the remaining two eggs.

Top the eggs with generous spoonfuls of chutney, garnish with sprigs of coriander., and serve with toasted sourdough.

Nigella-scented French onion soup

Prep 15 min
Cook 2 hr
Makes 4

55g ghee, or unsalted butter
1.6kg yellow onions (about 4 large ones), peeled and halved through the root, then thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated
2 tsp nigella seeds
Fine sea salt
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tsp black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
945ml low-sodium vegetable stock
2 tbsp white or yellow miso
2 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp dry sherry, or apple cider vinegar

For the croutons
8 slices sourdough baguette (about 13mm-thick)
115g grated gruyere
2 tsp nigella seeds
2 tsp thyme leaves

In a Dutch oven or large, heavy-based saucepan, melt the ghee over a medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, nigella seeds and a tiny pinch of salt, toss to coat the onions, then cover and leave to cook, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching, for about 30 minutes, until the onions turn soft and translucent.

Take off the lid, turn the heat to low and cook for about another hour (they might take longer), until the onions turn golden brown; if at any point the onions start to stick and burn, add a few tablespoons of water.

Meanwhile, wrap the thyme, peppercorns and bay leaf in cheesecloth and tie with kitchen twine. Put the bag in a medium saucepan, add the stock and 240ml water, then whisk in the miso. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer, cover and leave to steep at a low simmer for 30 minutes. Remove and discard the spice bag.

Stir the flour into the onions and cook on a medium-high heat, stirring, for about two minutes, to cook away the raw flour flavour. Turn the heat to low, add the sherry, then stir in 240ml of the hot stock to ensure there are no flour lumps. Scrape the bottom of the pot to release any stuck-on browned bits, then gradually stir in the remaining stock. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to low and simmer for six to eight minutes, until slightly thickened. Taste and season, if need be.

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/400F/gas 6. To make the croutons, put the baguette slices on a baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown, flipping once halfway. These can be made up to a day ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature.

Heat the grill to high and put an oven rack 15cm from the grill. Put four 600ml ovenproof crocks on a baking sheet and divide the soup evenly between them, filling them to at least 6mm from the top. Top each bowl with two slices of the toast, sprinkle with the gruyere and nigella seeds, then grill for about a minute, until the cheese bubbles and melts. Garnish with the thyme leaves and serve hot.

• These recipes are edited extracts from Fundamentals of Flavor: 100 Recipes for the Science of Better Cooking by Nik Sharma, published by Chronicle Books at £35. To order a copy for £31.50, go to guardianbookshop.com