Inula, wild asparagus, wild radish, Gundelia… In the spring months when the herbs appear on market stalls, getting home with various herbs is as easy as falling off a log.
We have got a recipe for a Bodrum classic, "Stuffed Gundelia” for you, assuming that, it is the right season to cook it.

“Terebinth is in the mountains of Gurece,
You go pass near Elif,
If you want to read a poem,
Come drink water from my hand...”

Saniye Karakurt, who was born and raised in Bodrum, lives in Gürece village has welcomed us with the above poetry. This is gone about in order to prepare the stuffed Gundelia. First of all, we would like to mention that it is not easy to prepare and it requires proficiency.
There are two types of Gundelia in Bodrum; one is called well-behaved the other one is crazy. The crazy one is for stuffed Gundelia, which is also known as “camel Gundelia” as camels love eating it. The "well behaved" one is known as the blessed thistle.

Ingredients (for 4 persons)
4 pieces of Gundelia
1 glass of rice
1 large sized onion
2 tomatoes
½ bunch of parsley
½ bunch of mint
1 teaspoon of salt
Ground black pepper

For the dough:
1 glass of flour
1 egg
1 teaspoon of salt
Water

Freshly collected Gundelia plants should be separated from the thorny leaves. Then wash them with a lot of water and boil for 8-10 minutes. After boiling, clean the cottony tissue on them. Prepare the stuffing on the other side. As you wish, rice or bulgur can be preferred. Chop the onion into small pieces, add the tomatoes, rice, parsley, mint, and spices, and then stir them gently while cooking.
Place the boiled Gundelia pieces into your palm and add the stuffing and close it. Tie around each by using string, make sure that the string does not disintegrate while cooking. Place them in a pan and pour some water over them and let it stew. Remove from stove 45 minutes later. On one side, prepare the dough with flour, egg, salt, and water until getting a smooth dough. Dip the Gundelia pieces into the dough and fry them in olive oil. Remove the strings gently. The stuffed Gundelia is ready to serve. Bon Appetit.