OTT: Embrace the Middle East with Kuku

In an ongoing effort to embrace the beauties of globalization, particularly that of world-cuisine, we return to Jerusalem for an decidedly Middle Eastern dish that, as so many Mediterranean recipes do, wows with a myriad of flavors derived from a set of otherwise humble ingredients. Author-chefs, Ottolenghi and Tamimi of “Jerusalem, a Cookbook,” describe this frittata-like fava bean kuku as “characteristic of the Iranian Jewish cuisine.” Come take a culinarily exotic trip with OnTheTable, one punctuated by barberries and saffron, and enlivened with dill and mint—it’s a world of flavor combinations hitherto unexplored.

Ingredients:

fava beans, 500g (alternative: great northern beans)
confectioners sugar, 2 Tbsp
dried barberries, 45g (alternative: dried cherries or cranberries)
heavy cream, 3 Tbsp
saffron, ¼ tsp
olive oil, 5 Tbsp
onion, 2 medium, chopped
garlic cloves, 5, crushed
eggs, 7
flour, 1 Tbsp
baking powder, ½ tsp
fresh dill, 1 cup
fresh mint, ½ cup
salt & pepper

Directions:
Dissolve the sugar in 5 Tbsp of hot water. Once tepid, soak the dried berries in the water for ten minutes, then drain.

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Bring to a brief boil the cream, saffron and two Tbsp of water. Remove from heat once a boil is achieved and allow the saffron to infuse the cream for thirty minutes.
Heat three Tbsp of the oil in a frying pan over medium heat, to this add the chopped onion and sauté for ten minutes. Next, add the crushed garlic and continue to cook for an additional four minutes. Incorporate the beans (drained); set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk till frothy the eggs, flour, baking powder, herbs, 1½ tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper as well as the cooled saffron infusion. Add to this the soaked berries, and the onion mixture.

Wipe clean the frying pan, add into it two Tbsp of olive oil, and place it in the oven to preheat for ten minutes. Back into the heated frying pan will go the entirety of the whisked egg mixture. Lid the pan and bake for fifteen minutes. Remove the lid and bake for an additional fifteen minutes, or until the eggs have set. A brief spell under the broiler can achieve a golden crust.

Serve hot and with a bottle of something bubbly.

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