Two Tasty Safflower Recipes

Safflower used to be planted in winter, but is now available throughout the year. It is not planted as the main crop on a large scale. Rather it is a recurring crop, usually connected to the farming of other leafy green such as spinach or herbs such as coriander, and dill.

Once the petals of flowers have been harvested and removed for processing, safflower growers are left with vast quantities of headless plants. Sundays and Thursdays are market days, where safflower farmers set up carts and sell their safflower stalks for families to make qurtum.

To make qurtum, the leaves of the safflower plant must be removed from the stem. They are prepared and shredded alongside other greens, such as dill and coriander. 

Meat broth is used, and qurtum leaves are boiled and whisked with some salt. 

A couple of dried okra, and cooked tomatoes, and fried garlic dressing complete the qurtum meal. All the ingredients are simmered together till they reach the right texture. Women also add a little bit of flour to thicken the soup.

The safflower petals are dried and mixed with nigella seeds to make lemoon measfar. 

Pickled lemons are served with many foods dishes - it can be a side to fried liver, to fish dishes, to fava beans and even blended as a paste to eat on bread.