Last week I bought some wild garlic at the market. It was the first time I’d ever seen it. Apparently, it grows abundantly in Eastern Anatolia, Southeastern Anatolia, the Aegean, and the Mediterranean regions. It’s also called wild leek. I wanted to try it and I really liked it. The market vendor told me to “cook it like spinach,” so I cooked it with olive oil and red rice.

Wild garlic looks like it’s been rolled up and packaged by nature. There’s a membrane that binds the branches together. I cut this membrane with a knife, separated the branches, and washed them thoroughly in plenty of water.

Before and After Cleaning

I sautéed olive oil, an onion, and grated tomatoes in a pan. I chopped the herbs into two or three pieces and added them on top.

In another pan, I boiled the rice. Since my rice is brown rice, it takes longer to cook. It wouldn’t be enough to cook it at the same time as the herbs. When I realized the herbs were wilting and almost cooked, I added the boiled rice. To allow the flavors to blend, I cooked them together for about 5 minutes and then turned off the heat. I ate it with yogurt and really enjoyed it.

Benefits of Asphodel:

It is a very rich source of Vitamin C.
It has the property of increasing white blood cells.
It kills germs in the body.
Asphodel is a powerful antioxidant.
It is a diuretic.
It is beneficial in relieving chronic pain.

#asphodel