There are more than  ten thousand types of herbs in Turkey. Some can be consumed and some are endemic. While some( nettle,hibiscus etc.) can be recognized by  majority of people, some are just used by people in smaller regions. Kırklareli cousine shows diversity in terms of herbal meals. Especially meals made with vegetables which are harvested (such as spinach and spring herbs like labada,nettle,purslane etc.) quite stand out. The herbs are sometimes used  seperately,while they can also be used with one another. It is quite common to serve these meals with yoghurt to balance the taste. As the ingredients of these meals can be easily found in riversides,gardens,plots etc., they are called “ meals of poor” in Kırklareli’s countryside couisine.

It was common among Balkan people,who immigrated and suffered great deal, that these meals were made as “ food for immigration”,because the easiest way to obtain food was the herbs. (As people were constantly on road because of the wars.)

Linden

It grows in Marmara and Black Sea region.Though it is found naturally in forests, it can also be grown as “ ornamental tree”  in parks and gardens. It is alive at least for a year.

These late-blooming flowers(June-July) are dried and drunk as tea. Linden is a type of tree that you may want to see because it is useful for many things such as cold and insomnia.

Yugoslavian Pepper

It is a type of pepper used in Soka Pickles.  Although It looks like green pepper, it has a a pointed cone and it is light green.

Soka is a pickling method with milk and cream . It is special to Yugoslavian cousine. You can have it at breakfast or as an appetizer.

Labada

Labada grows  both in Anatolia and Marmara region. It is a self-grown herb in nature that you can find abundantly in roadsides,rural areas etc.  It can be mixed with other herbs or plants like spinach and used in börek or cooked with rice and bulgur in stuffed leaves. Its taste can be sour if you eat it seperately.

It is used more in stuffed leaves in Thracian cousine. It is common in Kırklareli cousine. The stuffed leaves are rather baked with tomato sauce than cooked. As it is not delicate like grape leaves,  you need to boil Lambada much more than them to make it softer.

RECIPES

LABADA STUFFED LEAVES:

Ingredients:

    Labada leaves

2-3 onions

1 cup rice

1/2 cup bulgur

2 middle size tomatoes

1 coffeespoon tomato paste(for the filling)

1 tablespoon tomato paste ( for the sauce )

Black Pepper, cumin, thyme, dry mint

Parsley, chilli pepper(optional)

Oil

Salt

Preparation:

1. Boil the labada leaves in hot water. Use a deep pot.
2. Cut the the stems to the leaf blades.
3. Put some oil in another deep pot. Fry the thinly sliced onions.
4. Filter the rice and bulgur with water and then fry them with onions.
5. Add tomato paste and tomatoes you grated. After you fry them for a while add spices. Add pepper(Optional)
6. Add water until the water level is a little higher. Cook it at a low heat.
7. After you cook the rice, wrap the leaves with it.Put them in a tray.
8. Fry tomato sauce  and pour it on the stuffed leaves in the tray.Add a glass of water and bake it in the oven for at least half an hour.
9. Serve the stuffed leaves with yoghurt.

LABADA BORANİSİ

Ingredients:

300 gr labada

½ tea cup oil

2 eggs

150 gr yoghurt

2 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

1. Wash and clean Then chop them and fry.
2. Then, fry two eggs in another pan.
3. Mix the egss with labadas.
4. Aside, mix garlic with yoghurt. Then mix labadas with the yoghurt and serve.

SOKA

Ingredients:

Yugoslavian Pepper

1 lt goat or sheep milk

1/2 lt milk cream

750 gr White cheese

Salt

Preparation:

1.       Cut the peppers’ stems and clean the seeds.Then wash the peppers thoroughly and dry.

2.       Put salt into the peppers and put them in a tray. Cover it with a cloth  and wait until the next day.

3.       The next day, boil the milk with a tablespoon of salt.

4.       Put the cheese and cream into a bowl and add a glass of warm milk. Crush it with a fork.

5.       Put the mixture into the peppers.

6.       Put the peppers into jars. ( not tightly). Put the extra filling and milk inbetween.

7.       Wait for a day for fermentation. ( you can Wrap the jars up with a cloth)

8.       Then you can put them into fridge or a cool place for 20-30days.