Zarangollo – Spanish Scrambled Eggs with Zucchini and Onion
Zarangollo is a rustic Spanish egg dish made with zucchini and onion. It comes from Murcia in Spain, where you'll most often find it in local bars as a tapa to go with beer or wine. Simple as it is, the flavor is surprisingly refined, and it makes a great quick breakfast at home. Even without zucchini it works beautifully with potatoes – although, to my mind, that's a different dish altogether. By the way, don't confuse it with zorongollo, a roasted sweet pepper dish – the names differ by just a couple of letters.
Essentially, this is the local take on a whole family of similar scrambled egg dishes – Turkish Menemen, Greek Strapatsada, Bulgarian Mish-mash and so on. The classic, traditional recipe has no potatoes; they apparently crept in when zucchini was out of season. These days, though, people cook it with both potatoes and zucchini, or leave the zucchini out entirely. The eggs are served hot, often with no herbs or other vegetables at all. Traditionally it's cooked in a clay pot, though an ordinary frying pan is far more common.
Ingredients
2 servings
- Eggs 3-4
- Onions 2-3
- Green zucchini 1-2
- Olive oil 2 tbsp
- Salt, black pepper to taste
- Bread, vegetables, herbs for serving
Step-by-step recipe
- These wonderfully tasty zarangollo eggs with zucchini are very easy to make. I get the best results with firm green zucchini: the pieces hold their shape and stay al dente. Zucchini season starts in early summer, when you can already get new-season onions – big bulbs. Since zucchini makes up most of the dish, you don't need many eggs – three or four are plenty for two servings. And one more thing: serve it with sliced fresh vegetables, herbs and toasted bread.
- To keep the eggs from sticking, use a nonstick pan. Heat the olive oil in the pan. Peel the onions and slice them into very thin strips. How thin you slice them really matters – the onion should turn creamy and start to caramelize. Fry the sliced onion in the olive oil for 3–4 mins, stirring constantly, then season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- If the zucchini are young, you don't need to peel them, or you can peel them in stripes, leaving some of the dark skin on. Halve them lengthwise, then cut into thin slices with a sharp knife or a mandoline. Add the zucchini to the onion and fry everything together, stirring often. At first it may seem like there's too much zucchini – it will cook down, and in the finished zarangollo it will look like hardly any.
- Cook the vegetables over medium heat without covering the pan. Gradually they'll soften, the onion will start to darken slightly and the zucchini will lose some of its moisture. This takes 12–15 mins. Make sure the vegetables don't start to burn. Once the onion is completely soft and sweet and the zucchini is al dente, turn the heat down to medium-low, almost to the minimum.
- The eggs mustn't overcook – the whole charm of this dish lies in the soft, creamy texture of the eggs. Crack the eggs into the vegetables and stir with a spatula until they just set. Then turn off the heat straight away or take the pan off the stove. All that's left is to spoon the eggs onto plates and serve.
- To serve, I recommend toasting a few thin slices of whole grain bread until crisp. Slice a ripe tomato, and a cucumber if you like. Add a few sprigs of parsley. Sprinkle the eggs with finely chopped green onion. Serve while the dish is still hot.
- The traditional version has only zucchini and onion. To make it more filling and flavorful, potatoes are sometimes added to the vegetables – optional, but an option. Oregano and garlic are common additions too. The eggs can be a dish on their own or a side – whichever you prefer. Sometimes they're served cold or just slightly warm, but they taste best hot.
Yield: 2 servings Calories: 130 Prep: 5 mins Cooking: 15 mins Ready in: 20 mins Category: Main Dishes Cuisine: European Rating: