Iranian Herb Omelette. Kookoo Sabzi.

West backing south for a time, 4 or 5, increasing 6 or 7 for a time.

Moderate or rough.

Rain or showers.

Good, occasionally poor.

 

I really need to do something about my camera; the photos get worse and worse. And here it is especially a pity, because it doesn`t do the actual experience justice. Ahh..one day...

A glut of herbs (no, not grown yet, but purchased for a different recipe in a Middle Eastern market) let to a Google search: Parsley, coriander, dill, basil, mint recipe.

One of the results was Kookoo Sabzi, a Persian..yes, what exactly? It is not really a frittata (read about frittata here) and it is not really an omelette. Due to the inclusion of flour and bicarbonate of soda it is more like a pancake. Yet it is nearer to a frittata. On the other hand the egg is not the star, it basically serves as holding the herbs together. I think a Kookoo (sabzi means herbs) is like the filling of a quiche, just without the quiche.
And the herbs? You need lots. And more. A quick search, now under Kookoo sabzi, showed that the sky is the limit. The Iran Chamber Society  uses 1 kilo of fresh herbs (for 4), but includes “lettuce” as a herb. Others include spinach, but the majority insists on only herbs. Do you have any idea how many herbs make a kilo? The typical supermarket portion of herbs is around 30gr. But the big bunches you can buy from Middle Eastern or Asian shops yield around 100gr. Still about 10..

Fortunately I cook for one, so all I had to do was getting another bundle of flat leaf parsley. Still had only 70gr in total, but this had to be enough. For now.
As far as I could see there are no real rules as to which herbs need to be included, but parsley, dill and mint are nearly always there; chive, coriander or basil, oregano and thyme are subject to taste and availability.

As to the inclusion of other commonly used ingredients: walnuts and barberries, you can either omit them, include them as garnish or in the Kookoo, exchange the barberries for raisins or cranberries or tweak the sour taste with lime juice, lemon zest or sumac.

And to make it even easier, you don’t have to fry the herbs like I did (but I wanted the experience of herbs as vegetables) and you can either make one big Kookoo in a pan on the stove, in an ovenproof pan in the oven, fill it into a muffin baking case for small morsels for a buffet or picnic (here is a video explaining the steps) or fry them, like I did, in the rounds of a forgotten and wrinkled green pepper (pepper is removed at the end, just serves as a case). And last but not least you can eat them hot or cold, on their own or with a yoghurt sauce, Tzatziki (here is my take on it),  or a few drops of pomegranate molasses.

How easy is that? You have few rules, as long as you use lots and lots of different herbs. A perfect dish to tackle herb leftovers or use the last remaining garden herbs after a long summer.

Kookoo sabzi

1 garlic clove

70-200gr fresh herbs (including stems), I used lots of parsley, coriander, mint, Greek basil, chives, dill and fresh thyme

1/2 lemon

2 eggs

1 tsp flour

1tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

6 walnuts halves

a sprinkle of sumac

Olive oil

Salt and pepper, but not too much pepper, remember that some herbs have a rather peppery taste

Chop the herbs very fine, chop the garlic and squeeze the juice of the lemon. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the garlic, followed by the herbs. Add salt and stir fry for 2 minutes, finish with the lemon juice. Burn the juice off so there is no liquid in the pan (about 30 seconds) and pour the mixture in a mixing bowl and let cool completely.

Scramble the two eggs in a cup, crush the walnuts and mix them, the flour, pepper, sumac and baking soda into the eggs. Once the herbs are cold, mix the egg mixture into them and give it a good stir.

If you use the pan method (see above), use your smallest pan, the Kookoo needs to be thick. Heat oil in a pan (low temperature) and pour the mixture in. Don’t stir it, let it slowly rise and get solid. After about 5 minutes turn the omelette carefully (I use normally a pan lid for that, just turn the pan over and let the omelette fall on the lid, then let it glide slowly back). Give it another 2-3 minutes, then turn the heat off and allow the kookoo to get solid in the middle through the residual heat.

Either serve it in slices or triangles, cut it in squares, add some yoghurt sauce or eat it cold.

Verdict:

Delicious but I think my 70gr of herbs were too little. Maybe next time 140gr? Herbs treated like vegetables is a revelation, and I promise this wont be the last time you do them.