We were in our wonderful village of Assos which overlooks the Aegean, this past weekend after a very long absence. It was still very much winter and the weather was awful. In fact the whole country was ravaged by winds, rain and even snow.
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| can you see how wild the sea is along the sea road between Assos and Küçükkuyu? |
Because we were there for such a short time, I wasn’t really there to cook but we still couldn’t resist popping in to the Friday market in nearby Ayvacık to say hello to our favourite Zeytin Ciçek ladies. What a joyous reunion and welcome it was not only from Günay Hanım and her husband but also from the old Granny!
They had a wide selection of the more predictable vegetables on the stall plus several displays of these unusual – at least to us – green sprouting stems that we had never seen before!
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| have you ever seen these in the markets? |
What’s this, we asked? Filiz, they replied. Well I know that word: for me, filiz simply means ‘tendril, bud, young shoot’ also according to the dictionary, proving to me at least, that they don’t really know what it’s called either!
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| filiz in the market |
So yes, I had to buy a bunch of filiz! It looked nice and reminded me of a sheaf of lavender and wheat (although the taste was nothing like).
Of course I asked what I was suppposed to do with it and predictably enough, the answer was to prepare it by washing and chopping off the hard stalks, and then gently sauteing with some spring onions. But they all cautioned against doing that for too long: otherwise a bitter taste will emerge they said!
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| they look wonderful, don’t you think? |
So tonight this is exactly what I did. I gently cooked the seasoned chopped stems along with about 3 nice big chopped spring onions in a little oil until they softened. Then, following Günay Hanım‘s recommendations, I cracked an egg on top.
It made an interesting supper! Not an outstanding taste but pleasant enough by any standards. And it must be healthy!
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| the plate was licked clean at least! |
If you see these frondy green stems at your local market, why don’t you be adventurous and give them a try?
hmmmm…i never heard of this. was it like asparagus at all?
It looks like a cross between tilkişen and acı ot.
Claudia, I bought some from the Kastamonou market last year where all kinds of exotic greens turn up. About all I can say is what you said. At least it must be healthy!
October Farm: no, not nearly as good as asparagus..
BtoB: it was basically a curiosity!! You must get lots of unusual ots where you are..
Senior Dogs: … on a par with beetroot stalks, I think!!
Hi Claudia, I remember my father saying these were wild asparagus. And surely enough is you just google "wild asparagus" for images you will see that that's what they seem to be. Nomenclature for wild herbs, vegetables, flowers and all sorts of stuff seems to be very erratic in our country. Mostly local variations and usually named after whatever the leaves or parts resemble.
Hi Lale, I will have a look then, good idea! Yes the thing is that there are so many different varieties of ot in Turkey! Thanks for yr comment.
I seem to remember being told not to touch these with a knife when preparing them. Though it seems that they come to no harm.
Ah no a knife wasn't mentioned, only the dire warning not to cook them too long because of the bitter taste!
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