Totally switching gears here from St. Patrick’s Day to Nowruz, Persian New Years. Honestly I could use a few more days — aaaaaa!!! – not stressed at all!

Kookoo Sabzi

Chahr-Shanbeh Suri, the beginning of the New Years celebration, collided with the ten year anniversary of the day Ramin and I met, so we’re making up for lost time. Tonight we’ll be jumping over fire (to take our sickliness away — be gone bad, bad year!) and eating Ash Reshteh soup and tomorrow we’ll cook a big New Year’s dinner.

Kookoo Sabzi frittata

This Persian herb frittata, KooKoo Sabzi (Kuku Sabzi), is a signature dish for Nowruz. It’s healthy, easy, spring green and super delicious.

barberries

As you can see, it’s more herb than egg and it’s an antioxidant powerhouse made with chopped scallions, chives, parsley, dill and cilantro. I add a little Aleppo red pepper for heat (you can sub a few dashes of Tabasco), chopped walnuts and tangy barberries.

Wishing you a wonderful New Year filled with health, happiness and prosperity!

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Kookoo Sabzi

Ingredients

  • 7 large eggs
  • 1 tablespoon flour,
  • 1/2 teaspoon tumeric
  • 1 teaspoon scant (more like 3/4 full) salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon bakin soda
  • 2 pinches Aleppo pepper
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 3 tablespoons barberries (soaked in water to plump, also called zaresht)
  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts and some whole to garnish
  • Two bunches scallions
  • 1 bunch cilantro
  • 1 1/2 bunches Italian Parsley
  • 1 bunch chive
  • 1 bunch dill

Preheat oven to 350˚F

In a large mixing bowl whisk 7 eggs together with 1 tablespoon of flour, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1 teaspoon scant salt (more like 3/4 teaspoon).

Rinse, de -stem and finely chop: two bunches on scallions (the green and light green parts only and a few of the white bulbs), 1 bunch cilantro, 1 1/2 bunch Italian parsley, 1 bunch chives, 1 bunch dill.

Add chopped herbs to egg mixture. Add a hand full of chopped walnuts (around 1/4 cup) to the mixture and 3 tablespoons barberries (zaresht — must soak beforehand in water to plump).

Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon baking soda over and a few pinches of Aleppo pepper and mix all together well.

Pour into a small greased cast iron skillet or cake tin lined with parchment and greased and bake for 15 minutes, then turn heat down to 325˚F and bake another 15 minutes until firm (no jiggle in the middle). Cool, remove from pan, cut into wedges and serve!

You can garnish with Labneh or mast-o-khiar, barberries and walnuts!