Kookoo Sabzi

I made this a very long time ago and just never posted it. This is an easy recipe that is vegetarian and very tasty! Its an herb filled frittata type dish that all Persian mothers know how to make.  But as you know there's always a story to my posts. This one is not a happy one but it gives you a little insight to the Persian culture.

When a person passes away we make two things to take to their yearly memorial. One is kookoo sabzi and the other is halvah. The halvah recipe is coming up soon ( I hope). I make this for my dads memorial every year in June. The reasons we make these things are . . .  well I don't know. I honestly expected every one to have their story about why this is made and I got none. Even with the lack of stories there are definitely never a lack of RULES. So here are a few. Only use an odd amount of eggs when taking the kookoo to temple for the deceased. No explanation why and I can't even remember who told me. Another rule is that when you are at a memorial for someone in your immediate family your not supposed to do anything like cook or work. People are supposed to do it for you because you're mourning. Well I don't abide by this one, I think of this as cooking for my dad and if I only get to do it once a year I take my time and enjoy it.

Then there are non religious guidelines as to how to cook the onions, how to chop the herbs, beat the eggs/don't beat the eggs etc. I fry the onions until they are golden brown, I like it when they have a sweet flavor. As for the herbs I take the old fashion long route and chop them by hand as pictured below. If you've never cut anything like this before please do not try it, you can cut your hand pretty badly. The other option is to use a food processor. Its a great time saving option but one tip don't over process the herbs. They get bitter and mushy if you process them too long. Pieces should be large enough to identify the type of herb. As for the eggs I've done it both ways but I prefer not to beat them. They seem to bind a lot better and you can add them one at a time till you have enough.

So rules or no rules, happy occasion or not I enjoyed making this and I hope that you all only make this for happy, healthy and joyous events in your life! On to the recipe. Did I mention its also very easy to make?

Kookoo Sabzi

1 bunch American Parsley

2 bunches Italian Parsley

1 bunch Dill

2 bunches Green Onion 

1 bunch Mint

1 large onion

5-6 eggs

salt, pepper and turmeric to taste

oil

This recipe makes 1 really big frittata or two medium ones. Feel free to omit and/or add any herbs you would like. This like many other Persian recipes has about a million versions out there.

1. Soak all the herbs to wash away dirt and debris. Pick away any dark or damaged leaves that look inedible.

2. Drain all the herbs and get them really dry. Either use a salad spinner or lay them out on a towel for a few hours.

3. Using my method or the food processor chop all the herbs. There's no rhyme or reason to the order or anything. 

 My method of chopping came from both my grandmothers. You compact a large amount of herbs in your hand and then slowly, with a very sharp knife, you shave off little by little. You push the herbs up in your hand kind of like a push pop and take a little more off the top as you go. Again if you haven't done something like this use a food processor.

It should look something like this when you are done. As you can see I picked out some stems or pieces that I couldn't cut.

 4. Dice your onions and brown them in a good amount of oil in the same pan you will be making the frittata in. You can either add the oil in the onions when you're browning them or in the mixture before you cook it. I typically use the kind of pan that is pictured but I don't know what its called. Typically no smaller than 12 inches with short and straight walls.

5. As I said previously you can prep your eggs two ways. You will see in a later step why I don't like beating them prior to mixing. I always recommend cracking an egg into a separate container before putting it into any mixture. I mainly do it because I always get double yolks and some times it effects the recipe. (Fun Fact: there's an old wives tale that if you crack an egg with double yolks you'll have twins. Check back in 5-10 years and I'll tell you if it is true) 

6. Add your seasonings.

 7. Mix all your ingredients together. So in this picture you can see that the eggs are runny because I mixed them. If you add them one by one it binds a lot better and sets nicer when you cook it.

8. Add enough oil to the bottom of a pan to coat it really well and then put over a medium flame. Heat the oil just a bit and then add your mixture. When cooking this slow and steady is your best bet. 

Your looking for this foamy oil to come up around the sides. Typically that's a sign that one side is done but if your getting this foam before the center of your frittata is set then your flame is set too high. The middle of the frittata has to be fairly set for the next step to work. 

9. Ready? Here comes the fun/hard part. You take the pan and swirl it around to make sure the fritata is not sticking to the pan. Slide it out on to the platter you will be serving it on with the uncooked side up. Add oil to your pan if it needs it but not a lot because you can splatter yourself and you dont really need it anyway. Your going to "flop" the frittata back into the pan uncooked side down. I usually set one side into the pan and then roll it back into the pan. Sometimes it breaks apart in this step which sucks but you'll get the hang of it. 

10. Cook the other side for about half the time it took to cook the first side. I left it on too long which is why I have some burned herbs. Again slow and steady is the key. Honestly it just tastes so much better when you let it cook longer. 

11. Slide it out on to a platter and serve! Some people like to serve it whole and some like to cut it into squares. Totally up to you.