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Kuku Kadoo

5.0

(15)

Kuku kadoo topped with herbs in an iron skillet
Photograph by Graydon Herriott, food styling by Sue Li, prop styling by Aneta Florczyk.

Kukus (a Persian egg dish) can be made with a wide variety of fillings, like potatoes, eggplant, even dates. In this spring-y version, Andy Baraghani caramelizes the zucchini and leeks so they get sweeter and, in his words, “a lot more interesting” before he incorporates the eggs. To make it a full meal, serve each slice with a dollop of yogurt and warm flatbread.

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What you’ll need

Recipe information

  • Yield

    4 servings

Ingredients

5

garlic cloves, thinly sliced

¼

cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

3

medium zucchini or summer squash (about 12 oz.), thinly sliced

2

medium leeks, white, pale green, and dark green parts, halved lengthwise, coarsely chopped

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

¾

tsp. ground turmeric

8

large eggs, beaten to blend

½

cup coarsely chopped dill and/or parsley

Lemon wedges (for serving)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat a large ovenproof nonstick or cast-iron skillet with a lid over medium. Combine garlic and ¼ cup oil in pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is golden around the edges, about 2 minutes. Add zucchini and leeks, season with salt and pepper, and cook, tossing and stirring occasionally, until zucchini and leeks are very tender and almost jammy, 15–17 minutes. Sprinkle turmeric over and stir until vegetables are coated.

    Step 2

    Drizzle more oil around edges of skillet, then pour in eggs and season with salt and pepper. Swirl pan a few times to incorporate ingredients (also using a rubber spatula works well here). Cook, undisturbed, until eggs are set around edges of pan, 1–2 minutes. Cover and cook until bottom is set but top is still a little wet, about 4 minutes.

    Step 3

    Heat broiler. Uncover skillet and broil kuku, watching closely, until top is set and lightly browned, 2–3 minutes. Remove skillet from broiler and scatter herbs over kuku, squeeze juice from lemon wedges over, and season with more pepper.

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Reviews (15)

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  • Could add more spices, but cooked the recipe as written and it was very good. Light and flavorful. A winner.

    • Nancy

    • Portland Oregon

    • 2/20/2023

  • Delicious! Easy, filling, great weeknight meal. I added thinly sliced potatoes and sautéed for a few minutes before adding the zucchini and leeks. Will be adding into the rotation.

    • Rachel

    • Victoria BC

    • 10/5/2022

  • I read the recipe and thought "frittata without any dairy or cheese ... hmmm", but it was delicious. Excellent as written and very flavorful. Thanks Andy!

    • Laurel

    • DC

    • 7/14/2022

  • Very simple and very easy but totally delicious! Promoted me to leave my first Bon Appetit review! Well done me! 😀 and Andy for the recipe obvs!

    • Simon

    • Belfast, UK

    • 5/29/2022

  • Delicious, easy, fairly good for you. This was a nice (and somewhat surprising) mix of flavors.

    • Allrad

    • Washington, DC

    • 4/23/2022

  • Delicious recipe! How can it be so good when it’s just eggs, s+p, a bit of tumeric, and some sautéed veggies? No idea, but I was so surprised that en egg dish without any milk or cream could be so delicate, rich and delicious. My spouse doesn’t like zucchini, but loved this! Definitely don’t scrimp on the herb salad and citrus squeeze on top. I added a bit of fresh flat leaf parsley to the dill, and subbed lime for the lemon. It was excellent and so easy to make. Would be a great dish for company.

    • SpatulaCity123

    • Los Angeles

    • 3/31/2022

  • I have made kuku many times but this recipe is a little different and looks really good. It is on my menu plan for this week.

    • Carolynne

    • Philadelphia

    • 3/27/2022