Nargesi – spinach and eggs – Persian style

A delicious recipe from Maryam Sinaiee’s book Nightingales and Roses. If you have been living in Uist this last week, you’ll know that a combination of ferry break-downs and bad weather led to no food deliveries onto the islands for five days. I managed to get the last bag of spinach from the co-op, and I had duck eggs from Clair. This is just as good with hen’s eggs. 

I’ve seen a few versions online, adding leeks and za’atar. I think I have an Ottolenghi recipe with that combination. Here is Maryam’s version:

INGREDIENTS:

  • 500g fresh spinach
  • 50g butter
  • 1 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • juice of half a lemon
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 4 eggs
  • Extra lemon wedges

METHOD:

  • Rinse and roughly chop the spinach, and put them into a very large pan over a medium heat. Cook until the leaves have wilted. 
  • Meanwhile, in a frying pan, melt the butter and cook the sliced onions over a medium heat until they are turning golden. Add the garlic and continue to cook. 
  • When the garlic looks cooked, add the spinach and the lemon juice, along with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer for a couple of minutes, then uncover and simmer until the mixture is nearly dry. 
  • Make four wells in the mixture, add an egg to each well, cover and cook for three or four minutes on a low heat, until the eggs are cooked to your taste. 

Serve with flatbread, and a squeeze of lemon.