Share
Preview

the most delicious way to mix up your usual 🍳
 ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌
 
Food for Thought Friday: when you get bored of eggs, try this! 💚
 
Hello!

Today I have a favorite recipe to share with you. I eat eggs almost every day for breakfast, and when I get sick of my usual fried or scrambled eggs, this is my favorite thing to make: an adapted version of kuku sabzi, or Persian herb-filled frittata. I first ate one of these many years ago at a Nowruz - Persian New Year - celebration and I was amazed. A true kuku sabzi is LOADED with herbs, so much so that it's bright green, like in this photo:

I fully endorse this level of herbs... I just don't always happen to have that quantity around, and I don't let that stop me from making a kuku-sabzi-like frittata that is still loaded up with delicious greenery!

This dish is a huge crowd pleaser, and awesome to bring anywhere you're going as it tastes amazing warm, cold, and at room temp. As such, it gives me great joy to have extra in the fridge, and I love it plain, or topped with a dollop of yogurt or some feta cheese!

I am not Persian, but I adore Persian food... so much so that I think I'll save writing about it in full for another email. In the meantime, I'll tell you that Nowruz - the Persian New Year - is coming up on March 20th (the spring equinox), and so if you don't already know about it, now would be a great time to learn about this lovely (secular, mainly) holiday celebrated by Persians around the world!

I loved reading Persian recipe developer Andy Baraghani's memories of celebrating Nowruz with his family; his recipe for kuku sabzi is the one mine is based on. And of course, beloved Persian chef Samin Nosrat's beautiful intro to her "10 Essential Persian Recipes" is a fab read, especially if you're unfamiliar with Persian cuisine; and it also includes a helpful paragraph at the end about the terms "Persian" vs "Iranian," check it out! (Also Samin's recipe/thoughts on Kuku Sabzi found here.)

SO - let's get to the recipe (below)! This is by no means authentic; I totally adapted it from Andy Baraghani's recipe in Bon Appetit, and mostly I've just changed the technique to eliminate one step I found deterring (removing the cooked veggies to cool, and then mixing into the eggs only to pour back in the pan - turns out you can just pour the eggs right in - way easier!). And I wrote the recipe to be loose + flexible in the measurements, as I've found these ingredients and method to be very adaptable.

I hope you make it and enjoy!

Love,
Jess


Kuku Sabzi-inspired Frittata
Takes about 45 minutes, makes a 1-inch thick, 12-inch round frittata
adapted from Andy Baraghani's recipe in Bon Appetit

Recipe Keys:
  • Make sure your cast-iron pan is well-oiled before and throughout this recipe. That is what will keep the frittata from sticking at the end when you go to remove it. While making this, you may get nervous that it will never come out of the pan (I was nervous when I made it this week!) but just trust me, as long as you keep it well-oiled, it will be fine and come out beautifully at the end!
  • The turmeric really adds a lovely depth of flavor to this recipe. Also - the wider variety of veggies + herbs you use, the more complex the flavors will be (but it's also delicious either way)!
  • See the ingredient list for veggie/herb/egg quantities and guidance, and note the ratio example I used to make the frittata pictured above and below.

Ingredients:
  • avocado oil (or other high-heat, neutral oil)
  • equivalent of about 2 or more large alliums, assorted: onion, leeks, green garlic, shallot, etc
  • equivalent of at least 2 large bunches of herbs: cilantro, parsley, dill, and/or whatever else you have/like! (feel free to use even more herbs if you want, for a more authentic kuku sabzi!)
  • optional: add more greens like kale or chard if you want, especially if you need to use them up!
  • 8-10 eggs - use 10 or more if you want it eggier, use 8 or less if you want it greener!
  • 1 teaspoon dried turmeric
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • black pepper
  • optional: 1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves (if you have them - would be more authentically Persian; note that fenugreek seeds are also used as a spice, but have a different flavor from the leaves)

Ratio Example: for the frittata in my photos, I used 10 eggs ("large" size), 1 medium leek, 1 large shallot, 2 stalks of green garlic, 1 large bunch of parsley, and 1 large bunch of cilantro, + 2 tsp kosher salt (plus a pinch as my leeks/shallot were cooking), 1 tsp turmeric and a few grinds of fresh black pepper. This is more eggy than a traditional kuku sabzi.

Equipment:
  • 12-inch cast iron skillet recommended. 10-inch would work too, although it will take a little longer to cook and it will be thicker. Otherwise, an oven-proof skillet is needed for this. If you don't have one, you could also use a dutch oven if you had to.
  • chef's knife, cutting board, teaspoon for measuring, 2-4 cup pyrex glass measuring cup or medium bowl

Instructions:
  1. Preheat the oven to 325-350. Get out your cast iron pan, and make sure it is clean and well-oiled (on the sides too!).
  2. Get out all the herbs/alliums/greens you want to use and evaluate your quantity. Clean and pick through your alliums/herbs as needed, and if you need to, wash anything (leeks especially!) and leave on a towel(s) to dry.
  3. Now that you can see all your filling, decide how many eggs you'd like to use. Crack eggs into pyrex (easier to pour) or small bowl. Add salt (use 2 tsp kosher salt for 10 eggs - adjust down or up depending on your quantities) and a few cracks of black pepper. Whisk eggs with a fork or whisk until well combined, then set aside.
  4. Now, it's time to chop! The strategy here is to chop while you cook, timed so that we are starting with the longest cooking veggies first and working our way to the shortest-cooking (the herbs). To start, chop your long-cooking alliums first (large onions and leeks). Chop leeks into thin ribbons, see here for a visual, chop onions into quarter or half moon slices. (If you prefer being totally prepped - you could chop everything before starting.)
  5. Heat up the pan, add a glug or two of oil, and add leeks + onion to the pan first. We want these to be cooking until softened and just starting to brown, so adjust the heat down to medium if it's going too fast as you continue chopping and adding. Keep checking and stirring the veggies in the pan while you continue to chop. While leeks/onions cook, chop the next level down - shallots, green garlic, or any hearty greens you're using. Add these to the pan, plus 1 tsp of turmeric, and give it a stir, adding more oil as needed. It's REALLY important in this recipe that the pan doesn't dry out.
  6. Finally, chop herbs - stems first into small pieces, then leafy parts. Chop fairly well, I go beyond a "rough" chop but not all the way to a "fine" chop because I'm a little lazy.
  7. When the alliums are nicely softened and a tiny bit browned (this will generally be true when you're done chopping the herbs), turn the heat down to medium if you didn't already. Give it a stir and make sure that the mixture is not dry, if it is add more oil and toss around again to distribute. Now, spread the alliums out evenly around the pan. Add all the herbs on top and spread evenly.
  8. Now carefully go around the outside of the pan and add a small stream of oil all the way around the edges. Then pour the egg mixture into the pan and use spatula to make sure it spreads evenly. Gently press down the herbs and veggies to make sure everything gets covered with the egg. If you need to stir more vigorously as if you're making scrambled eggs, that's fine.
  9. Do one final check to make sure the mixture is spread evenly. Now turn off the heat, and using oven-proof gloves, transfer pan to the oven. Set timer for 10 minutes.
  10. Check after 10 minutes to see if the frittata is set. You should be able to stick a fork in and tell if it's firm. Double check that there's no uncooked egg patches on the top of the frittata. Cook for another 2-5 minutes if needed, and try to take it out when just set.
  11. When done, remove from the oven. You should have nice brown, crispy edges and it might be bubbling a bit - beautiful! If you're eager, you can run an offset/metal cake spatula around the edges to make sure it's loosened. It should be nicely pulling away from the edges. Give it 5-20 minutes to cool, depending on how hungry and patient you are!
  12. You can use a plate to (carefully) flip it out whole if you like, but I prefer to cut into wedges directly in the pan and remove as I go, just in case there are any sticky areas on the bottom, this helps avoid breakage.
  13. Once cool, store in the fridge for up to ~5 days if not eating immediately! Enjoy warm, cold, or at room temp. Yogurt or feta on top are lovely additions! (Samin also recommends serving with pickled veggies).
PS. To my Persian friends who may be reading this - if you have any critical feedback for me on the above and would be willing to take the time to share it with me, please do and I would be so grateful! My goals are to share what I'm eating/cooking and hopefully introduce people to the joys, flavors, and beauty of cuisines they might not know about, AND I always want to do so in a respectful, honest way that honors and uplifts the cultures I'm talking about. I'm sure I will make some mistakes along the way, but that's part of growth, so if you ever have feedback, I always want to hear it! Thank you!!
All photos are taken by me and recipes written by me, unless otherwise noted.

If you like this email, forward it along to your favorite food-loving friends (it would mean so much to me)! Wannabe subscribers can sign up here. Thanks for reading!

In case you missed out, here are a few past issues to check out:

Hi, I'm Jess! I help health-conscious, busy people transform their cooking from chore to lifestyle through intuitive cooking, which I teach through online classes, free content, coaching and more. This is my newsletter, Food for Thought Fridays, where I share highly actionable tips and inspiration to help you cook more intuitively (which makes cooking feel easier and SO much more fun!). Once a month or more, I share a recipe that's really worth making, and I only share those with my email subscribers. Sometimes the text above may include affiliate links, meaning (at no additional cost to you) I get a commission if you click through and make a purchase. This helps me to continue to share free content, so I would love it if you buy through my link! Thank you for supporting Garlic Press Jess!

    I currently work + live on land that is the unceded territory of the Ramaytush Ohlone. And I can't wait to eat at Cafe Ohlone when they reopen someday! Check out this article about them.

    Email Marketing by ActiveCampaign