Wonderful Purslane!

In early July, I feel like we have to look a little harder in the garden to find something really good to eat.  The spring vegetables are finishing.  Lettuces and spinach are bolting and going to seed in the summer heat.  The spring carrots have all been eaten.  We are, frankly, tired of Swiss chard and kale right now, after using them as staples during the winter months.  We still have snow peas, but they are fading, too.  The summer vegetables haven't really started yet.  The zucchini are an inch or two long in the garden.  I did eat a not-quite-ripe Sungold tomato today! But the tomato plants are loaded with green tomatoes.  Peppers are small and green. 

So what is there to eat?  The answer is quite clear: purslane. 

The first year we lived here, it was the only thing that flourished in the garden, and it continues to be a strong contender for happiest plant around.   And maybe YOU condemn it as a weed and pull it out of your garden and discard it.  Don't!  And here's a picture of it growing in our garden :

 

 

Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) is one of the great unknowns (in this country).  It's the best vegetable source of Omega-3s fatty acids, as well as containing Vitamins A and C, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and iron.  It also contains a powerful antioxidants (no surprise: look at that red stem!) that have proven antimutagenic properties. 

 

In the Mediterranean, purslane is chopped up and added to robust salads, sometimes as a pickled vegetable, with mint, arugula, cucumbers, tomatoes, and a lemon vinaigrette.  In Latin America, it's known as "verdolaga," and is added to stews for the last ten minutes of cooking to thicken the stew.  Paula Wolfert, in The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean, says, "A healthy, delicious, succulent purslane will stay firm even when dressed with oil and vinegar hours in advance.  The whole herb--tender stems, unopened buds, and plump leaves--is good raw, cooked or pickled."

Here's a link that discusses purslane and has a further link to recipes:
http://web.extension.illinois.edu/cfiv/homeowners/030726.html

I've been trying purslane in a number of ways.  I added it, chopped finely, to a chickpea curry a few minutes before serving.  It didn't change the flavor much, but it was a great nutritional addition.

Our favorite way to eat purslane is in a Purslane and Green Bean Salad that I developed (recipe below).

Purslane and Green Bean Salad

-Serves 4

 Ingredients:

1 medium red onion
3 Tbs. Balsamic vinegar
½ tsp. salt
1 lb. green beans
2 cups purslane
3 Tbs. fresh herbs (such as basil, parsley, summer savory, or any other), finely minced
¼ cup olive oil
1 oz. crumbled feta cheese
Salt and black pepper to taste
Nasturtium flowers for decoration (if desired)

I like to use a method of quick-pickling the onion so that it isn’t so strong a flavor in the salad.

Slice the red onion finely.  Place in a small bowl and cover with balsamic vinegar and ½ teaspoon salt.  Set aside for at least 15 minutes to pickle.  It helps to give it a squeeze to combine.

Cook one pound green beans, cut into bite-sized pieces, in boiling water until just tender, about four minutes.  Immediately plunge into ice water to cool, then dry on a clean towel.  Chop two cups of purslane coarsely, removing larger stem pieces.  In a medium bowl, combine beans and purslane. 

Add to the pickled onion the finely chopped fresh herbs (I use a combination of Italian flat-leaf parsley and basil) and salt and black pepper, added to taste.  Whisk in olive oil.  Pour onion and vinaigrette over beans and purslane and toss together.  Serve garnished with feta cheese and nasturtium flowers, if desired.

 

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