What to do with Purslane

A few random ideas....

Wash well and throw into salad.  They add a crisp, juicy, slightly lemony touch.

Use the leaves instead of lettuce to make sandwiches more interesting.

Make a Moroccan salad 

 Chop and steam the purslane for about 20 minutes until it's wilted and tender.  (If you throw a whole clove of garlic in for each cup of purslane, it will steam as well.) 

Drain the purslane, mash the garlic into the (much reduced) vegetable, and season it with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Stir in a bit of olive oil and serve with olives. If you have some preserved lemons, a bit of the chopped skin is a nice addition.

Make a Turkish Salad

Wash the purslane and pick off the leaves.

Mix enough yogurt to cover the leaves with a clove or two of minced garlic, some salt and maybe some urfa or maras pepper flakes. 

Make verdolagas with salsa verde tacos.

Begin by putting 4 tomatillos into a blender with 1 small green chile, half a small onion and a clove of garlic.  Whirl them into a thin liquid. 

Take a big heap of purslane, wash it well, chop it into 2 or 3 inch pieces and boil it for about 10 minutes. Drain.

Slick a skillet with oil and add the salsa verde. Bring it to a boil, turn the heat down and add the purslane. Salt and pepper to taste. (Diana Kennedy adds cumin as well.) Cook it down until it’s thickened. 

Add some queso fresco if you have it.

Serve wrapped into warm tortillas.  

Or try this even easier version: Steam the purslane, drain it, then put it in an oil-slicked pan with minced garlic, a chopped onion, a chopped tomato and a chile pepper.  Stir in some crumbled queso fresco.  Now stir in a couple of beaten eggs and scramble them very loosely.  Fold into tortillas and eat.