MALLOW WITH SPINACH AND MINCED MEAT

(Recipe in English is below. Kiymali ispanakli ebegümeci tarifi için burayi tiklayin.)

Finally the old guy who sells all sorts of herbs and legumes is back in the bazaar! That means that the season is on! This week I bought some dock, some fennel foliage and something I’ve not tried before: mallow!

a bundle of mallow

mallow

I am hoping to make the fennel foliage with some beans. If I am not too lazy, I am hoping to make filled dock this time.

As it is the first time that I used mallow in my kitchen, I would like to note the following: In my cooking book, the way to clean and process the stalks of the mallow seemed a bit too long for me. If the end parts of the stalks that look like Y are too thick, then they are not desirable and are advised to be peeled off or chopped off. I didn’t peel of anything, to be really honest, and neither did I throw away the too thick Y-looking-like ends of the stems. Instead, I separated the stalks and the leaves and I steam-cooked the stalks in my pressure cooker. But after 10 minutes of steam cooking, I noticed that the stalks are indeed hard, and I continued to steam-cook the stalks some 10 – 15 minutes more.

In my cooking book, the recipe did not include any spinach. However I had some at hand which needed to be consumed as soon as possible. Adding spinach is also a good idea if it is the first time you’ll taste mallow and you don’t know what to expect of the taste! Smooth first-encounter! 

I am very very happy with the result! What I cooked tasted delicious, and I am looking forward to cooking some more mallow soon when it is still the season and when the plant is apparently so healthy! Needless to say, it tastes 1000x more delicious with some yoghurt and garlic sauce!!!

Ingredients (serves 4 – 5)

1 bundle of mallow, washed very well; stalks and leaves separated and chopped roughly

I seperated the leaves and the stalks of the mallow

I seperated the leaves and the stalks of the mallow

mallow leaves

mallow stalks - I chopped them roughly

200 – 300 grams of spinach, washed well, and chopped roughly

1 big onion, cubed

150 – 200 grams of minced meat

2 spoons of bulgur (can substitute with rice, but count in that the rice cooks slower than the bulgur so I suggest you soak the rice in water a few minutes beforehand)

2 – 3 spoons of olive oil

1 glass of warm water

Salt 

Method:

1. Steam cook the stalks of the mallow. Because of the reasons I mentioned above, I suggest you start with 15 – 20 minutes of steam-cooking first and steam-cook some more if needed.
2. Sauté the onions in the olive oil for a minute or two.
3. Add the minced meat and sauté until the meat changes colour and it is cooked.
4. Add the spinach leaves and the mallow leaves bit by bit (as it is always too difficult to fit them in the pot at one time). When the leaves sink a bit, add the stalks that you steam-cooked.
5. Sprinkle the bulgur over, add warm water and close the lid. Cook on low heat for about 15 – 20 minutes lid closed. When the dish is cooked, add salt, mix and voila! It is ready to serve! 

Step 1 - I steam-cooked the stalks

Step 3 - Saute the minced meat with onion

mallow with spinach and minced meat - ready to serve!

mallow with spinach and minced meat - with yoghurt and garlic sauce next to it!