Spinach or Purslane in Olive Oil with Garlic Yogurt / Yoğurtlu Ispanak

Writer's Note: My parents cook everything in bulk. On any given day there is enough food to feed the Turkish army squirreled away in their three fridges and pantry, useful if the apocalypse hits when I happen to be visiting. This dish can be made in bulk and kept in the fridge for days. Lie about in your pajamas and spoon up bowls of spinach at your leisure.

While I personally don't like to corrupt the pure taste of spinach by adding onions, the dish is traditionally made with sauteed onions, so I have both options here. Sprinkling a little Aleppo pepper and dried mint on the garlic yogurt adds a bit of color and depth to the dish.

Ingredients:

2 bunches of purslane or spinach, washed, dried and roughly chopped

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 small yellow or white onion, diced (optional)

1 cupsfull fat traditional thick yogurt

1-2 garlic cloves

pinch of sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt and salt to taste

1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (optional)

1/2 teaspoon dried mint, crumbled (optional)

Directions:

If using onions: Heat a medium-sized pot or deep skillet over medium heat and add olive oil. After two minutes, add the onions and saute until soft and translucent.

If not using onions: Heat a medium-sized pot or deep skillet over medium heat and add olive oil and heat for two minutes.

For both recipes: Add the spinach or purslane and the sugar and saute until wilted but do not overcook! Taste it after 3-4 minutes. Everyone likes their greens cooked to varying degrees but I think the less cooking the better when it comes to this dish.

To make the garlic yogurt: make paste of the garlic and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a mortar and pestle. Mix into the yogurt. Taste the yogurt to make sure that the taste of garlic is not overwhelming -- you can always moderate by adding extra yogurt.

Spoon the spinach into a bowl, drizzle the garlic yogurt on top, and then sprinkle with Aleppo pepper and dried mint, if you like. Add salt to taste.