BACK TO ALL RECIPES

Nasim Alikhani’s Date Scrambled Eggs

Quentin Bacon

BY The Editors

PUBLISHED June 28, 2023

Iranians love dates for their sweetness, nutrients, and because they are rich in fiber, making them a perfect, wholesome snack. Pairing excellent-quality dates with soft and silky scrambled eggs enriched with a bit of cream and seasoned with the warmth of black pepper has been one of my favorite breakfasts since my mom’s Shirazi cousin made this for me on a visit south when I was a teenager. — Nasim Alikhani

 

The following may contain affiliate links for which we earn a small commission. Thank you for supporting us in this way!

Nasim shared this recipe with us when she joined us on Food with Mark Bittman.

Listen to Nasim Alikhani on Food with Mark Bittman
Print

Nasim Alikhani’s Date Scrambled Eggs

Prevent your screen from going dark

Makes 2 large servings 1x

Time 10 minutes

Scale

Ingredients

  • 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • Light olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick/28 grams) salted butter
  • 8 large Medjool dates, pitted and thinly sliced
  • 4 to 6 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts, toasted, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

  1. Add the onions and 4 tablespoons olive oil to a large, heavy-bottomed pot with a tight-fitting lid and sauté over medium heat, adding more oil if needed, so that the onions turn golden, their edges darken, and they soften, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the turmeric, a bit more oil, and stir, allowing the turmeric to bloom and release its fragrance, about 1 minute more. Remove some of the onions to reserve for garnish, leaving the rest in the pot.
  2. Add the butter, dates, and 2 tablespoons water (to help soften the dates) to the pot, and sauté over medium heat for 1 minute.
  3. Whisk the eggs with the cream in a mixing bowl and add them to the pot, along with the salt and pepper. Lower the heat, cover the pot, and cook for a few minutes, taking care not to overcook the eggs.
  4. Serve the eggs garnished with the reserved onions, and toasted walnuts, if you like.

— Recipe from Sofreh: A Contemporary Approach to Classic Persian Cuisine

Log in, or become a member today.

Join in: enjoy 7 days free, plus 40% off your first year with access to 1,000+ highly vetted recipes from the How To Cook Everything series and beyond, essays from Mark, and original pieces from our contributors.

Join annually and save 40%
Log in to your account

GetBetterFasterHealthierSmarterTastier

in the Kitchen

Through our (more than a thousand, and growing) highly vetted recipes from the How to Cook Everything series, original food essays and reporting, thoughtful podcast conversations and introductions to new and responsible food products, we aim to showcase what’s possible, from farm to fork, and power a growing movement that encourages people to think about food not as a commodity, but as central to our health and happiness.

Start your free trial

We hope you join us on this journey. We’d love to have you as a part of the Bittman community. As a member, you'll have access to:

  • New recipes every week
  • 1000s of recipes from How to Cook Everything and beyond
  • First access to in-person events with Mark and Kate
  • Exclusive discounts from our favorite brands
  • Q&As with Mark and the team

 

Subscribe to our free newsletter

Join over 105,000 passionate individuals who receive our weekly emails. It’s 100% free and you can unsubscribe anytime. Plus, we’ll email you a sampling of what premium members receive on a weekly basis.