A Taste of Persia: Kuku Sabzi Persian Herb Baked Omelette

If you love omelettes or frittatas then you will love Kuku Sabzi, an absolutely delicious vegetarian Persian herb omelette or frittata. Made with a generous amount of herbs (three bunches worth of parsley, coriander and dill!) and enriched with barberries or cranberries and toasted walnuts this bright green baked omelette is one of the most delicious omelettes you will EVER eat! This is a pushy recipe Dear Reader.

Kuku sabzi traces its origins to the Gajar dynasty of Iran during the 18th century where it once held status as a royal delicacy. Nowadays it is eaten at Nowruz or Norouz or Persian New Year or Easter. The word Kuku is often used to describe vegetarian foods while the word Sabzi means herbs in Farsi. Kuku Sabzi symbolises rebirth.

While an omelette or frittata is one way to describe it, Kuku Sabzi is really all about a beautiful blend of herbs that play the starring role. It really is a whole lot of herbs and spinach bound together with some eggs. This makes it quite different from a typical omelette which is more eggs than anything else. If you grow these herbs then this is perfect. I suspect once you make this once you'll make it again and again because it is so simple and so delicious and unlike any other frittata or omelette you've ever eaten.

Barberries are very good for you and high in antioxidants. If you don't have access to barberries you can use dried cranberries, just chop them up because they are larger than barberries. Cranberries are sweeter than barberries so if you love sweetness then use them. I also loved the toasted walnuts in this too. I swear that when you are making this (and I did it all in the Thermomix), it will smell so good that the hardest thing will be to wait for it to cook! This is a great dish to bring along to a pot luck because not only is it delicious, it is also vegetarian and is delicious hot or served at room temperature.

Tips For Making Kuku Sabzi

1 - Typically you use three herbs in Kuku Sabzi: parsley, coriander/cilantro and dill. Make sure to rinse them all well (especially the coriander) to wash away any dirt.

2 - With parsley, only use the leaves or the very thin stems. You can use flatleaf or European parsley or curly, it's up to you.

3 - With coriander or cilantro you can use the leaves and the stems too (just save the roots for curries).

4 - With dill you can use the fronds and thin stems.

5 - The original recipe uses a food processor which saves a lot of time and I definitely recommend using one or a Thermomix. Otherwise you can just chop all of the herbs and it will just take a little bit longer.

6 - I recommend always toasting nuts before adding them to recipes as this really brings out their flavour.

7 - Some people cook this on the stovetop in a frying pan while others bake it. I love baking this omelette which makes it a great hands off recipe!

8 - Serve kuku sabzi with flat bread, a block of feta and some pickles for a wonderful lunch or light dinner.

I have tried Kuku Sabzi before and really enjoyed it but it wasn't until my friend Joey, who is a US based food writer that I met on a trip to Chile over 10 years ago made Kuku Sabzi and put it on his Instagram stories that I really took notice. I could not get it out of my mind. His version was even more glistening and delicious looking than the ones I had tried. A couple of weeks passed and I still could not stop thinking about it. Then I happened to have all of the herbs together ready to make it. The perfect time to make this is when you have a lot of herbs. I happened to get a huge bunch of parsley in my fortnightly vege box and I had also bought coriander and dill for other recipes. Having just used a small amount I had enough for this whole recipe.

Then I looked up recipes for it and while they looked good they didn't look as good as Joey's one. I messaged him not expecting to hear back as I wasn't even sure what time it was in Philadelphia. To my delight he messaged back straight away with the recipe. It was from a food writer called Naz Deravian from her cookbook Bottom Of The Pot. Joey adapted his version for the ingredients that he had even throwing in a croissant into the mix.

I felt like I had to explain that I couldn't stop thining about it after I I saw it on his stories, hence my message weeks after my first initial Hearted emoji. "Is that weird? Maybe LOL" I said to him.

His response was to laugh and say that we're both cut from the same cloth. Sometimes you just don't have to explain yourself to people...

So tell me Dear Reader, do you ever have to explain your obsession with food to others or defend it? Have you ever tried Kuku Sabzi?

Kuku Sabzi

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott, adapted from Naz Deravian from Bottom Of The Pot

Preparation time: 8 minutes using a Thermomix/food processor, 15 minutes otherwise

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Serves: 4 as part of a lunch spread

• 1 bunch/70g/2.5ozs parsley (flat or curly, weight of leaves only)
• 50g/1.7ozs coriander leaves and stems
• 20g/0.7ozs dill fronds and thin stems
• 100g/3.5ozs baby spinach leaves
• 75g/2.6ozs green onion, white and green, trimmed of roots and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 75g/2.7ozs dried cranberries or barberries
• 75g/2.7ozs walnuts, toasted
• 8 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds, ground
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 80ml/3flozs extra virgin olive oil

Traditional method

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 160C/320F fan forced. Chop the parsley, coriander, dill, spinach leaves and green onions until you get a fine mixture. Empty into a large bowl. Then chop the garlic, cranberries and toasted walnuts and add to the herbs and stir to mix. In a jug or small bowl, whisk the eggs with the fenugreek, salt, turmeric and cinnamon and add to the bowl and stir with the herbs so that the eggs are distributed.

Step 2 -Pour olive oil into a large dish. I used a 35x22x5cm/14x8.7x2inch rectangular dish but you can also use a round dish too. Pour the omelette mixture over the oil and smooth the top over. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cut into squares and flip over and bake for 10-15 more minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature, it's delicious every way!

Food Processor/Thermomix method

Step 1 -Preheat oven to 160C/320F fan forced. Place the parsley, coriander, dill, spinach leaves and green onions in a food processor or Thermomix. Pulse until finely chopped. Using a Thermomix set to #5 for 15 seconds, tamping down with the TM spatula. Empty into a large bowl. Then add the garlic, cranberries and toasted walnuts and set to 10 seconds speed #5 and then add to herbs and stir. Then add the eggs with the fenugreek, salt, turmeric and cinnamon to the Thermomix bowl and set to 10 seconds speed #5. Add the spiced egg mixture to the herbs and stir so that the eggs are distributed.

Step 2 - Pour olive oil into a large dish. I used a 35x22x5cm/14x8.7x2inch rectangular dish but you can also use a round dish too. Pour the omelette mixture over the oil and smooth over. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cut into squares and flip over and bake for 10-15 more minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature, it's delicious every way!

This will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days (if it lasts that long!).

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