The difference between a light vegetarian Lebanese breakfast and a satisfyingly light vegetarian Lebanese dinner may come down to nothing more than the number of eggs you use.
Familiars of this newsletter will already know I am something of an egg maniac. Religiously, each Sunday night, I make an egg dish for dinner — with my ultimate aim being for a six-month stretch in which no recipe has been repeated.
That’s a challenge, though, not because there aren’t sufficient recipes to be tried (especially Middle Eastern ones) but because the temptation is too strong to go back to Lebanese-style scrambled eggs. If eggs and flavour are what you’re after, this is it. And it only takes 10 minutes or so to prepare.
Just one thing — and this is critical — do NOT add salt and pepper until after the eggs have curdled. Salting it at the start of the cooking renders the eggs a murky yellow-grey. Which is definitely not the Middle Eastern look you want.
Trust me.
Ingredients
· 1 medium zucchini
· 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
· salt
· freshly ground pepper
· 6 eggs
· 2 tablespoons cream
· 2 tablespoons minced chives
· chopped parsley
· 1 tablespoon of za’atar
· 1 tablespoon chopped oregano
Instructions
1. Grate the zucchini on the large holes of a box grater or in a food processor.
2. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large, heavy nonstick pan. Add the zucchini. Cook, stirring often, until it wilts, about five minutes. Add the garlic, if using, and continue to cook, stirring, for another minute or two until the mixture is very fragrant and dry. Turn the heat down to medium.
3. Beat the eggs in a medium bowl. Add the cream, and whisk together. Stir in the chives. Add to the pan with the zucchini, and cook, stirring every few seconds with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula, until the eggs are scrambled.
4. Add salt and pepper, and then toss in the herbs
5. Remove from the heat and serve, with warm pita bread and hummus.
For this (mine is a rough adaptation) and other similar recipes, do consider investing in Salma Hage’s Middle Eastern Vegetarian Cookbook.
