Green Feta + Za’atar FritTata wIth tABBOULEH

A frittata: the no-fail, much easier yet almost more sophisticated cousin to the omelet.

When I was first learning how to make an omelet, every one of my fails turned into a frittata. Therefore, I’ve made a good number of frittatas in my day. I think the only way to mess one up is to burn it. As long as you don’t do that, you should end up with what I consider to be the perfect sharable egg dish for a brunch spread. Because no one wants to share an omelet.

This frittata in particular isn’t the most gorgeous — unfortunately bright green food tends to turn dark green/brown once cooked — but this is probably one of the most flavorful frittatas I’ve ever eaten. The base is packed with fresh blanched spinach, basil, and parsley, lots of good olive oil, and loads of za’atar. Then it’s topped with fresh feta before finished in the oven and served with a bright, lemony tabbouleh.

Green Feta + Za’atar Frittata

Serves 4 |

Green Feta + Za’atar Frittata

• 1/4 cup curly parsley, picked off stem

• 3/4 cup basil, picked off stem

• 1 cup spinach, packed

• 8 eggs

• 1 garlic clove

• 1 tbs. green za’atar

• 1 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1 tsp. black pepper

• 2 tbs. butter or olive oil

• 3/4 cup feta in brine, drained and cubed

Tabbouleh

• 2 cups picked curly parsely, roughly chopped

• 1/4 cup dry bulgur wheat, rinsed and drained

• 1/4 cup cucumbers, small dice`

• 1/4 cup tomato, deseeded small dice

• 2 tbs. fresh mint, rouughly chopped

• 1 lemon, juiced

• 3 tbs. olive oil

• 1 tsp. salt

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, pour 1/2 cup the water over the rinsed and drained dry bulur in a bowl. Set the boiling water back on the stove and turn off heat — use this to blanch the herbs/spinach for the frittata below. Let the bulgur sit for 20-30 minutes until fully absorbed, while preparing the frittata. Mix the cooked bulgur with all other tabbouleh ingredients and add more lemon or salt to taste. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Turn the broiler setting in your oven on.

For the frittata, bring the pot water back to a boil and well-salt it. Prepare an ice bath and set aside. Quickly blanch the herbs and spinach — about 15 seconds each — just until they turn bright green. Remove and immediately put in the ice bath until cool to the touch. Remove from the ice bath, and ring out all of the excess water with a towel. Place in a blender with all the eggs, a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper, and the garlic clove. Blend until smooth — it will probably look a little bit chunky and that is okay. Fold in the za’atar. Heat a 10 inch deep sauté pan over medium-hiigh heat and add the oil/butter. Let the butter (if using) melt completely and begin to sizzle — or the olive oil slied around to coat the bottom/sides of the pan. Add in the egg mixture and use a spatula to quickly stir the eggs to create curds. Once the mixture is thickening, smooth out the curds into an even layer on the bottom. Sprinkle the feta around the still-liquid-y on top mixture, drizzle with olive oil, and place under the broiler until the top is set and the feta is bubbly/turning golden brown. Serve with the tabbouleh.