Eggah with broad beans, cavolo nero, potato and mint

My recipe for eggah with broad beans, cavolo nero, potato and mint. Eggah is Middle Eastern egg dish similar to a fritatta or tortilla. The eggah or Persian Kuku is a versatile egg dish that can be either baked or fried. The eggah can also be served hot or cold and is perfect for a quick lunch or dinner. This eggah recipe uses broad beans and cavolo nero as it's main ingredients - beautifully fresh, seasonal ingredients that are in abundance in the shops and markets at the moment.  However don't worry if you can't get hold of the cavolo nero - spring greens or spinach would be equally good here.   

The cavolo nero adds an interesting, almost bitter contrast to the sweetness of the broad beans which works well mixed with the eggs.

The eggah is also a great way of using up any leftover cooked vegetables. I had a few roast potatoes looking lonely in the fridge and this was a tasty way of using them up. Definitely a case of the whole being greater than the sum of it's parts! 

So looking for a quick lunch idea, that used up some lonely roast potatoes I needed some inspiration.  My first port of call was the fabulous Ms Claudia Roden who is at the top of my food hero list. If you haven't already, check out A Book of Middle Eastern Food - a classic that needs to be on everyone's bookshelf in my opinion. 

There is a great section on cooking with eggs and the eggah features heavily - with many interesting and delicious sounding variations.  

This is my take on the traditional Middle Eastern eggah but please feel free to experiment with different flavours and additions to your eggah. Please leave a comment to let me know how you get on and I look forward to sharing more recipes with you soon. 

Eggah with broad beans, cavolo nero, potato and mint

Recipe by: chip butties and noodle soup

preparation time:  10 minutes

cooking time:  20-30 minutes

serves 4

ingredients:  

8 free range eggs

1 cavolo nero (spring greens or spinach would be good too if you can't find cavolo nero)

2 medium sized cooked potatoes 

1 bag of broad beans - about 15-20 pods

2 tbs olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1. preheat the oven to 190C
2. grease a roasting dish - I used a rectangular one about 13X10 size 
3. pod the broad beans then if necessary blanch for 2-3 minutes in boiling water before peeling the skins.
4. finely chop the cavolo nero and saute in olive oil for a few minutes until softened.  
5. Chop the potatoes and add with the broad beans to the cavolo nero - season with salt and pepper.
6. Whisk the eggs then add to the vegetables - mix together then add to your roasting dish. 
7. Cook for about 20 minutes until set but still a bit wobbly in the centre - it will firm up when you take it out of the oven.
8. Serve hot or cold - enjoy and let me know how you get on :-) 
9. NB: you can also cook your eggah in a frying pan like a tortilla or fritatta. 

optional extras:  

• top with dollops of soft cheese or thick yogurt/labneh.
• chopped fresh herbs - mint, dill, coriander or parsley would all be great.
• Few sprinkles of paprika or cumin. 

eggah garnished with soft cheese, mint leaves and a sprinkling of paprika

I have entered this recipe into Javelin Warrior's Made with Love Mondays over at Cookin w/ Luv

I have also entered this recipe into 

 cooking with herbs hosted by Karen at Lavender and Lovage

frittata with wild garlic, roasted butternut squash and brie

My recipe for frittata with wild garlic, roasted butternut squash and brie. A beautifully simple and delicious supper or brunch dish.  Another recipe borne out of my current food obsession - wild garlic.  I love the stuff and I can use it even more now I found a huge patch of it in woodland close to where I live in the UK...happy days.  But the season is nearly over, it is short and sweet and I will have to get over the changing times....but not until I have made some jars of wild garlic pesto to see me through a few more weeks.

I added leftover roasted butternut squash to the frittata, but you could easily substitute for any other roasted vegetables of your choice.  Also many other cheeses would be great melted on top - it's just that I had some brie that I needed to use up.  I would also love this with some nice crumbly goats cheese or Stilton.  This can be served simply with some crusty bread or boiled new potatoes.  Let me know how you get on - I hope you enjoy :-) 

For more handy information and safety tips about foraging for wild garlic check out my previous posts for wild garlic with tofu, aubergine and oyster sauce and wild garlic minestrone soup.  I also found Galloway wild foods really useful with a wealth of information about foraging for wild garlic and other edibles.

serves 2-3
preparation time:  5 minutes
cooking time: 5-10 minutes
recipe author:  chip butties and noodle soup

ingredients:

3-4 eggs
1 cup/handful of chopped roasted butternut squash (or roast veg of choice)
1 large bunch wild garlic (washed in clean running water)
100g brie sliced (or cheese of choice)
2 tbs vegetable oil

instructions: 

• heat a frying pan with the vegetable oil, beat the eggs then add to the pan with the roasted butternut squash and half the wild garlic - stir around a few times to start the cooking then turn the heat down.
• add the sliced brie to the top of the frittata.  The frittata should cook in about 5 minutes - you can finish it off under the grill if you like to brown up the cheese.   
• garnish with the rest of the wild garlic and serve - simple!  

I am also entering this dish into the May herbs on Saturday challenge hosted by delicieux.  Organised by Karen at lavender and lovage. 

 

This recipe is also included in Nature's Lunchbox a food foraging challenge organized by Foodie Laura.  Check out the rules here if you would like to enter or look at other entrants.  Happy foraging :-)