Food writer and Dishoom-walla Roya Shariat shares a treasured family recipe from her debut cookbook: Maman and Me: Recipes from Our Iranian American Family. A delicate harmony of parsley, coriander, dill and chives, kuku sabzi (herb frittata) is a little celebration of the Persian love for all things green and fragrant. Perfume your kitchen with a harvest of the freshest herbs and savour a dish designed to celebrate Nowruz (Persian New Year).
Ingredients
4 servings
6 large eggs
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp fine salt
0.5 tsp ground black pepper
80 g chopped flat-leaf parsley
80 g chopped coriander
40 g finely chopped dill
25 g finely chopped chives
2 finely chopped spring onions
4 garlic cloves, grated
1 tbsp finely chopped walnuts (optional)
1 tbsp barberries (optional)
80 ml vegetable oil
METHOD
STEP 1
Preheat your oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Generously grease a standard 12-cup muffin tray with a neutral oil.
STEP 2
In a large bowl, beat the eggs until uniform in colour. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Stir in the parsley, coriander, dill, chives, spring onions and garlic. The decision is yours to add the walnuts and barberries here, too. The mixture should just barely bind together; the less eggy the batter, the greener the end result will be.
STEP 3
Whisk the oil into the egg and herb mixture to combine. Spoon the mixture evenly into the muffin tin cups, filling each cup about two-thirds full. Place the tray on a middle rack in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the kuku cakes are light brown and a tester inserted in the middle of a cake comes out clean.
NOTES
Kuku is equally tempting warm or cold and will keep refrigerated for up to 1 week. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months and reheated in the oven.
If you’d like to make one large kuku instead, warm the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Pour in the mixture and let it cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Using a wooden spatula, divide the kuku into fourths or sixths, and flip the pieces over. Cook uncovered for another 10 to 15 minutes. Place the kuku pieces on a plate lined with kitchen roll to soak up any excess oil, flip the pieces and leave for a few more minutes.
Adapted from Maman and Me: Recipes from Our Iranian American Family by Roya Shariat and Gita Sadeh. Copyright © 2023 by Roya Shariat. Reprinted by permission of PA Press, an imprint of Chronicle Books.
Photo credit: Farrah Skeiky.
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