Lia's Kitchen

Carrot & spinach KuKu – A seasonal Frittata

Posted on February 27, 2017 Updated on February 27, 2017

A recipe inspired by the way Iranians make their open omelette or frittata, known as Kuku. It uses March’s seasonal vegetable like carrots and spinach still abundant at Blaencamel farm and in their weekly organic vegetable boxes. This type of frittata uses a generous quantity of ingredients so don’t be surprised when you see how much vegetable goes in it – it is what sets it apart from other open omelettes.

You can find Blaencamel farm vegetables at both Farmers’ markets in Cardiff, Roath and Riverside, on Saturday and Sunday respectively, but also in Aberystwyth and their own farm shop. Order their boxes here.

Ingredients (4 portions)

• 250g (3 medium) carrots, coarsely grated
• 150g spinach, finely chopped
• 15g (half a small bunch) parsley, finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 50g sundried tomatoes or mixed antipasti e.g. peppers and artichokes, finely chopped
• 30g cashews, chopped
• 3 Tbsp. Goji berries (optional)
• Fresh mandarin or orange juice
• 100g (half a pack) feta cheese, crumbled
• ½ tsp. ground cumin
• A generous pinch of smoked or regular sweet paprika
• ½ tsp oregano
• 1 generous pinch of saffron strands
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 6 eggs
• 2 generous pinches of salt
• ½ tsp. sugar
• Olive oil 

Preparation (30 minutes)

1. Add enough fresh mandarin or orange juice to cover the goji berries in a small bowl or mug. Infuse whilst prepping.
2. Add a tablespoon (or two) of olive oil to a 20 to 25cm non-stick pan, and sauté the onion on low heat with a pinch of salt and the sugar until it caramelises (5-10 min).
3. Pound the saffron in a bowl with a rolling pin, beat in the eggs and allow time for the saffron to infuse in them.
4. Remove the onions from the pan, add another tablespoon of oil, add the carrots and cumin. Sauté until soft (5 min).
5. Return the onions to the frying pan, add the goji berries, cashews, sundried tomatoes and antipasti. Mix well.
6. Add the spinach and parsley little by little so that it slightly wilts. You don’t need to cook your spinach much or at all but you might choose to wilt it a bit of you are using a smaller pan.
7. Add the flour, pinch of salt, baking powder, paprika and oregano to the eggs and beat until the flour is mixed well and to give the eggs some volume and softness.
8. Mix into the pan gradually and carefully making sure the beaten egg goes to the bottom of the pan and mixes in well between the abundant ingredients to hold them together. The pan should remain on low heat all this time.
9. Make sure that the ingredients are spread evenly on the pan and sprinkle the feta cheese on top.
10. After firming up the frittata on the hob for a couple of minutes, you can cook the frittata in two ways: a) If your pan is heat resistant place it in a preheated oven for about 10-15 minutes at 180-200 degrees –cover with a lid or aluminium foil for half the time, or b) Cover the pan with a lid or plate. Continue cooking on the hob on low heat for 8 to 10 minutes. Then place under a preheated grill for a couple of minutes or until golden and risen.
11. If using a 20cm pan it should be at least 5cm dip to make a cake like frittata that will rise.
12. You can choose to omit or include ingredients on this list. It is also very easy to replace them. For example goji berries can be replaced with cranberries or even barberries if you prefer an authentic Iranian taste.