Recipes

Persian Herb Frittata

Serves 4-6

| Prep Time: 10 mins

| Cook Time: 35 mins

| Total Time: 45 mins

You may need: Persian Advieh

Discover The Recipe

This easy Persian Herb Frittata recipe will make your next at-home brunch special. Each March, millions of Iranians are joined by the Persian diaspora to celebrate Nowruz (pronounced “NO-rooz”), a “spring cleaning” of the soul. Nowruz takes place on the spring equinox and marks the Persian New Year. Our regular subscribers will recognize that this recipe is actually our third New Year’s celebration in a row (we celebrated Lunar Year aka Chinese New Year in Feb). What can we say? We don’t want the party to end. Nowruz traces its roots to Zoroastrianism, a pre-Christian religion, and has been celebrated for at least 3000 years.

During Nowruz, most families take a couple weeks before the celebration to literally clean house (beat the dust out of rugs) and create symbols for the new year to come (pictures, foods, mirrors for “reflection” on life). We can all borrow this opportunity to reflect on the joy, heartache, family and friends that make life so special as well as envision and usher in a better new year to come, whatever our religion. Persian herb frittata (Kuku Sabzi is stuffed with fresh herbs, garlic, nuts, and Persian Advieh, an all-purpose blend enhanced by seductive notes of dried rose. This dish is easy to customize: clean out the fresh veggies in your fridge, add dried fruit like cranberries or apricots, or use walnuts. Use Kuku Sabzi leftovers to stuff a pita sandwich with hummus.

Ingredients

1 tbsp extra virgin olive (or vegetable) oil, divided
1/2 cup pistachio nuts (shelled, unsalted)
2 cloves garlic
1.5 cups loosely packed flat-leaf parsley, stems removed
1.5 cups loosely packed fresh cilantro, stems removed (or substitute dill or basil)
4 scallions, green and white parts, coarsely chopped
1 tsp baking powder
6 eggs, whisked
2 tsp Piquant Post Advieh spice blend
1/2 tsp Kosher salt (optional)
Freshly-ground black pepper to taste (optional)
1/3 cup pomegranate arils (optional)

Notes

An easy way to wash a lot of herbs at once is to fill a large mixing bowl with water. Then, soak the herbs and gently agitate to loosen any debris. Remove the herbs, then use a paper towel to pat and absorb the bulk of the water from the herbs.

Using a food processor greatly speeds the prep for this recipe. Take care not to overly pureé the herb, but mixture. You want a fine chop but mush. Use a spatula in between pulses to scrape down the sides.

Using baking powder ensures that the frittata will puff up and be light and fluffy.

Optional ingredients add a little character and flavor but don’t sweat it if you don’t have them.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 deg. Using half the oil, lightly grease an 8-9″ oven-safe sauté pan or baking (pie) pan. In a large bowl, whisk eggs and set aside. Wash the herbs and pluck leaves from the bigger stems and discard stems. Dry the herbs with a paper towel. Prep scallions.

Place the herbs, pistachios, garlic, & scallions in a food processor. Pulse until ingredients are finely chopped (not mush). Using a spatula, scrape down sides as necessary and pulse again. Note: you can finely chop by hand if you don’t have a food processor.

Add the herbs, Advieh spice, baking powder, salt and pepper to the eggs and stir to mix. Add the egg mix to the pan. Then, place the pan in the oven.

Cook for 35-40 mins or until the frittata puffs up and the center springs back to touch. Remove from oven and let cool 5 mins. Use a knife around the pan edge to loosen before gently removing. Garnish with extra herbs, chopped pistachios, and pomegranate arils.

Alternatives & Substitutions

Making a frittata is a great way to use up aging produce in your fridge. Feel free to dice up and sauté carrots, cauliflower, broccoli potatoes, etc to add to the egg mixture before baking.
Persian Advieh is an all-purpose seasoning that imbues a lovely Middle Eastern flavor on any dish. Try on roasted chicken, braised lamb, your favorite casseroles, or roasted veggies, hummus or pita sandwiches or in eggplant dishes.
Or, try this Pomegranate soup with meatballs, or our Persian Lamb Stew recipe.
Another fun alternative is this Persian Apple stew (Khoresh Sib o Gheysi).
For our plant-based diet friends, try our stunning Persian Jeweled Rice recipe, packed with flavor and nutrition.
Here’s a vegan Persian spiced lentil patties recipe to try.
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