This verdant Persian omelette is more veg than egg, and it should absolutely make it into your mid week dinner or weekend brunch repertoire. What I love about this dish and Middle Eastern cooking in general is its incredible combination of heady spice, generous textures and a beautiful balance of sweet, bitter, fresh and rich. The deeply savoury flavours are studded by pops of tart sweetness from the barberries, and the radicchio adds a bitter edge of depth and dimension to round out the herbaceous flavours.
There are many ways to make this recipe your own, and this one is by no means the most authentic recipe you’ll find, but that’s the beauty of trying it out and tweaking it over time. The eggs in this dish are just there to set the herbs and vegetables, so it’s a great one for those who don’t like the egginess of a classic frittata.
Ingredients
1 large brown onion, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 bulb fennel, coarsely chopped
1 big handful of radicchio, thinly sliced (for a less bitter edge, you could also use kale or silverbeet)
For the egg mixture
7 large eggs
1 cup flat leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped
1 cup dill, chopped
1 cup coriander leaves, chopped
1 tbsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 handful barberries or raisins
Butter
Oil
Salt flakes
To garnish
Chopped tomatoes, flat leaf parsley, sumac, yoghurt, lemon, sesame seeds
Method
In a heavy based frying pan on a medium heat, add a good slug of vegetable oil and the onion, garlic, fennel and radicchio. Sweat for 10-15 minutes until cooked through, glossy and beginning to caramelise. Remove the vegetables from the pan and transfer to a bowl to cool a fair bit (too hot, and the eggs will start to cook before you want the to). Once cooled, drain any excess liquid from the vegetables.
In a blender, add the eggs, parsley, dill and coriander with a good pinch of salt. Blitz into a verdant green smoothie-looking mixture.
Into the cooled and drained vegetables, add the turmeric, pepper and cinnamon and combine thoroughly. Gently fold in the egg mixture, along with the barberries.
In a deep non stick pan with about a 23cm diameter on medium heat, add a large knob of butter and good slug of vegetable oil and melt. Swirl to coat the pan (including the sides), and once the butter is bubbling. You can test whether the oil is hot enough by adding a teaspoon of the mixture in. If it sizzles, you’re good to go. Pour in the egg mixture and tap the pan gently to remove any air bubbles.
Reduce the heat to medium/low and allow the mixture to set. When you can see a crust forming around the sides, gently edge a knife around the sides to release it from the pan, so it can continue to crisp up and form a shell on the outside. Cook for a further 15-20 minutes, or until set.
If you’re feeling confident, pop a plate over the top of the pan and flip out your omelette (be careful, as the hot oil will drip out), then gently slide it back into the pan to seal the other side briefly. Otherwise, if you’re not ready to try this out, you can pop the pan into the oven at 180c to set the top. Remove when it has a stiff jiggle going on.
Serve, turned out on a plate and garnish with yoghurt (or labne), a pinch of sumac and sesame, and some chopped tomatoes and parsley, dressed in olive oil, lemon and a good pinch of salt.