Fresh herbs pretty much define my cooking. Whether it’s parsley, coriander, mint, chervil or even the green part of spring onions (which people tend to discard), I just love them all and add them to many of my dishes. They add another layer of flavour without compromising the main ingredient, freshening up every dish. These two recipes require lots of chopped herbs – don’t be afraid to use them generously.
Green tortilla with lemon tahini
Originating in Iraq, this dish, AKA eeja, is close to my heart. As a kid in Tel Aviv, I loved going to small kiosks for lunch, where eeja would be served in a fluffy pitta, topped with fresh salad, tahini and some harissa.
Prep 10 min
Cook 30 min
Serves 3–4
Olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and finely diced
1 green chilli, thinly sliced
100g fresh coriander, leaves picked and finely chopped
100g fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and finely chopped
50g fresh mint, leaves picked and finely chopped
30g spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
6 large eggs
½ tsp ground cumin
1½ tsp sea salt
1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve
Tahini, to serve
Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4. Put two teaspoons of oil in a frying pan on a medium heat, add the onion and chilli, and fry for six to eight minutes, until the onion is caramelised.
Put the chopped herbs and sliced spring onions in a bowl, then crack in the eggs, add the caramelised onion mix, ground cumin and salt, and whisk to combine.
Put one tablespoon of olive oil in a 26cm ovenproof nonstick frying pan on a medium-low heat, let the pan heat up for two minutes, then pour in the green egg mixture and cook for four to five minutes. Transfer to the oven, cook for a further 15 minutes, then remove and slide the tortilla out on to a serving dish. Cut into portions and serve with lemon wedges and tahini.
Fish kebabs with preserved lemon and tzatziki
I’ve been making this dish for 15 years, maybe more, and whenever we put it on the menu, it sells really fast. Unlike fishcakes, these kebabs contain no egg, flour or breadcrumbs as binding agents, and people often ask how they hold together. The secret is in the “slapping” process used when mixing, so don’t be tempted to skip that step. We grill our kebabs over charcoal for a lovely smokiness, but they work fine in a frying pan or griddle pan. The tzatziki adds a clean element that sits perfectly with the robust flavours of the kebabs. Hake works really well here, but most firm white fish will do: the most important thing is that it’s super-fresh.
Prep 25 min
Chill 2 hr
Cook 10 min
Serves 3
For the kebabs
350g hake fillets (or other firm, white fish), cut into 5mm dice
130g white onion, peeled and very finely chopped
30g flat-leaf parsley leaves, very finely chopped
30g coriander leaves, very finely chopped
30g preserved lemon, finely chopped – we use the pulp as well as the skin
¼ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp sea salt
10ml olive oil, plus extra for grilling and drizzling
For the tzatziki
200g cucumber
2 garlic cloves
250g labneh (strained yogurt)
Sea salt
Juice of ½ lemon
Combine the diced fish, onion, chopped herbs and preserved lemon in a large bowl. Add the spices, salt and olive oil, and mix with your hands by grabbing the mixture and slapping it repeatedly against the insides of the bowl until it starts to come together (this will add elasticity and give the mix a better texture once cooked). Form into 50g cylindrical kebabs, then chill for a couple of hours, to firm up.
Heat a griddle pan (or, better still, a charcoal grill). Rub the kebabs all over with olive oil, then grill for two to three minutes on each side, until they have firmed up and are cooked through.
For the tzatziki, finely chop the cucumbers and squeeze them to get rid of any excess liquids. Finely grate the garlic, put everything in a bowl and season with lemon juice and salt, if needed.
Serve the kebabs drizzled with more oil and a generous dollop of tzatziki.
These recipes are edited extracts from Oren: A Personal Collection of Recipes and Stories From Tel Aviv, by Oded Oren, published by Hardie Grant at £26. To order a copy for £22.62, go to guardianbookshop.com
