I was all greens this week-end. It is spring while I am writing this post and in the markets you can see herbs all kinds of herbs that are not always there. Knotgrass is one of them. It is very common in cities like Tokat, Sivas, Artvin. It is becoming common slowly in more populated cities like Istanbul as the number of people who want to cook organic products and/or who are becoming vegan are increasing.
Knotgrass was made popular also by Harry Potter, the characters prepared magical potions with this herb. Actually I think it might be really magical, because it is good for so many things; from diarrhea, coughs, bronchial catarrh, inflammations of the mouth, liver and kidney disorders. The best part of it is, it grows naturally in forests and gardens.
Make sure you rinse it well. Cut off and discard thick stems and check and take out different herbs.
Traditionally you should be adding about 100 grams pastrami to this dish. If you choose to do so cut to thin slices. I have added about 100 grams of sucuk in mine. I first diced it and then cut every dice to four. Next time I will definitely go for the vegan option and will not add any meat.
I have classified this recipe as “quick and easy” too, as there is really not much to do after you wash the herb. You just chop an onion and the garlic, mix the tomato paste and add the knotgrass. Mix well and enjoy with a scoop of plain yogurt.
Knotgrass with Turkish Pastrami
Ingredients
- 500 grams knotgrass
- 100 grams pastrami optional
- 3 tablespoons fine bulgur
- 1 onion chopped
- 5 garlic cloves halved
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 300 millilitres water warm
Instructions
- Wash the knotgrass. Cut to edible pieces.
- Chop the onions.
- Add the olive oil to a large pot. Add the onions. Cook until onions are translucent and then add the garlic and cook for another minute.
- Add the tomato paste and sauté for another two minutes.
- Slice the pastrami to small pieces. If not available you can also use sucuk, also cut to slices. Or you can completely skip this step to make a vegan dish, which will be good as well.
- Add the knotgrass and sauté until it starts to leave off its water.
- Add 3 tablespoons grounded bulgur. Mix.
- Add about warm water to cover about half way the knotgrass. Cover the lid.
- Cook first high, and then low heat until the bulgur and the knotgrass is cooked. Add salt, mix and close the heat.
- Serve with warm as a main dish with plain yogurt. You can also use yogurt with crushed garlic. Enjoy.