Cuckoo for Kuku

My Amazon order for a Persian cookbook called "New Food of Life: Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremonies" finally arrived -- thanks for the gift certificate Min! -- and I dove into the recipes immediately.

The friend who presented me with a cooking challenge recently unloaded several pounds' worth of dried beans on me. It seemed appropriate, therefore, to look up some Persian dishes using beans.

One of the simplest recipes I found was for kuku, which is a type of Iranian dish resembling the Italian frittata or the omelet. According to the cookbook author, Najmieh Batmanglij, "a good kuku is thick and rather fluffy."

There are over a dozen variations on the kuku in the book. I can't post Batmanglij's recipes here without her permission, but I can generalize it for you here. [Note to AP: This is an Option #2 recipe.]

Basic Kuku Recipe
Serves 8

1. All the kuku recipes begin with chopped onions (or shallots or chives or scallions) and minced garlic being softened, not browned, in a skillet with oil or butter.
   
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
   
3. Remove the skillet from heat and add your preferred fillings -- cooked lima beans and chopped fresh dill in this instance -- and the entire mixture is transferred to a baking dish. (I like using a round pie plate for this recipe.)
   
4. In a separate bowl, lightly whisk together 3-4 eggs, a dab of yogurt and salt & pepper to taste.
   
5. Pour the egg mixture over the first mixture in the baking dish. Gently give it a brief stir to distribute the eggs because they will bind everything together.
   
6. Bake in a 350°F oven for 30 min, brush the top with oil, then bake another 30 min or until the top is golden like a quiche.