Dish of Spinach Stems with Wheat
(click to enlarge)

Spinach Stems with Wheat


Turkey   -   Bugdayli Ispanak Kökü
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 4 w/rice
***
11 hrs
Yes		 Spinach stems are sweeter than the leaves, and there's certainly no need to waste them. This delicious recipe takes some hours, but it's not at all difficult.

1/3
6
5
2
1-1/4
3
1/2
1/2
1
1/2
-----

c
oz
oz
cl
#
T
T
t
t
c
---

Wheat Grains (1)
Spinach Stems (2)  
Onion
Garlic
Tomatoes, ripe
Olive Oil
Lemon Juice
Salt
Chili Flake (4)
Water
-- Garnish
Parsley (flat)

I'm not sure how this dish is served in Turkey, but I've served it with Basmati rice, and that worked well. I've also used left-overs as pasta sauce which also worked well.

Prep   -   (10 hours - 25 min work)
  1. Soak WHEAT in 1 cup Water for 8 hours or more. Drain and simmer in fresh Water (more water than you think it could possibly need) until tender, at least 1 hour. Use an oversize pot as it'll foam over if you give it a chance.
  2. Rinse SPINACH STEMS and cut into lengths of about 3/4 inch.
  3. Chop ONIONS fine. Crush GARLIC and chop fine. Mix.
  4. Scald TOMATOES 1 minute in boiling water, quench in cold water and peel. Chop or dice quite small.
  5. Squeeze Lemon Juice.
Run   -   (25 min)
  1. In a spacious sauté pan, heat Oil and fry Onion Mix until Onions are translucent, but no browning.
  2. Stir in Tomatoes and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for about 8 minutes.
  3. Stir in Lemon Juice, Salt and Chili Flake (see Note-3).
  4. Stir in Spinach Stems for about 1 minute.
  5. Stir in Wheat and Water to almost cover. Simmer tightly covered over low flame until Spinach is tender, about 6 minutes.
  6. Serve garnished with chopped Parsley.
NOTES:

  1. Wheat Grains:

      (Wheat Berries, Pelted Wheat) These are whole hulled grains of wheat. The ones I used were labeled "Hulled Wheat, N.D. / for Halim" (Halim is a meat and wheat stew popular from Anatolia to Hyderabad). 1/3 cup will yield 1 cup cooked (easier to make more and measure out a cup cooked).

  2. Spinach Stems:

      6 ounces is about the amount you will get from one pound of good quality spinach.

  3. Sugar:

      The pattern recipe called for 1/2 t sugar at this point, but in my opinion it isn't needed, and this "great evil" in our diets should be avoided wherever it is not really needed.

  4. Chili Flake:

      Aleppo (pul biber (flake pepper) in Turkish) is very flavorful and appropriate to the region. It usually has very little heat though, which will please many people, but not all. If you want more you can add a bit of a hotter chili flake or powder. For details see our Chili Powders / Flake page.
  5. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
tmg_whtspin1 130302 Almost Turkish   -   www.clovegarden.com
©Andrew Grygus - agryg@aaxnet.com - Linking to and non-commercial use of this page is permitted.