PURSLANE RECIPES
also called Verdolaga
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Recipes A-Z from our farm |
Purslane, also called Verdolaga, is a succulant edible weed. We like to make tacos, and saute it with garlic like we do with chard, and other things. Let us know what YOU do with it! thanks.
Try purslane with any of our general cooking greens recipes.
Cucumber-purslane-yogurt salad
inspired from a starchefs.com recipe
2 armenian cukes, or 4-5 large green garden cukes, or 10-12 lemon cukes, etc, peeled, seeded and cut into quarter-round slices
1/4 pound Purslane, large stems removed, washed and drained well then roughly chopped
2 tablespoons each, Fresh chopped mint, cilantro and chervil
3 cups greek yogurt
1/4 cup best olive oil
3 cloves Garlic, puréed with the blade of a knife
2 teaspoon ground Coriander
S & P to taste
Place the cucumber, purslane and herbs into a large bowl. In another bowl, stir together the yogurt, olive oil and garlic, coriander and season to taste with salt. Add the yogurt mixture to the vegetables and mix well. Add a pinch of ground black pepper. Taste the dressed cucumber-purslane salad for seasoning, adding a little more salt if needed. Serve chilled.
Purslane Salad
2 cups purslane, chopped
1 hard-boiled egg, roughly chopped
½-1 cup lettuce or chard leaves, chopped
1/4 cup cheddar cheese (or other semi hard cheese), diced into small bits
3 green onions, chopped
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Olive oil to taste OR mayo or greek yogurt to taste
S & P to taste
1 ripe avocado, peeled, chopped, if avail.
Mix up everything!
Mexican Pork and Purslane
from The Cuisine of Tlaxcala
Codillo, sometimes called chamorro, is the lower part of the pork leg, here cut crosswise into rounds, including the central bone. Nopales (paddle cactus) and verdolagas (purslane) are two of the most common plants found in Central Mexico. Because of their versatility and high nutritional value, they are used in a variety of dishes. Purslane, like nearly all greens, is a perfect complement to the flavor of pork. If you live in an area where purslane is not available, watercress is a perfectly acceptable substitute. If you cannot get fresh nopales (which are now widely available in U.S. supermarkets) you can use canned- just be sure to rinse and drain them well before using.
* 2 lbs. pork leg, bone in, cut crosswise into 1" rounds
* 1 1/2 lbs. tomate verde (tomatillo) husked and blanched
* 1 large fresh cuaresmeño or jalapeño chile, seeded and deveined
* 2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
* 1/4 cup chopped onion
* 3 tablespoons chopped epazote
* 1 hoja santa or avocado leaf
* 3/4 lb. purslane or watercress, cleaned and steamed
* 2 nopal paddles, cut into 1/2" squares, boiled till tender and rised well
* Salt to taste
Preparation:
Place the meat in a large pot or dutch oven and cover with 2 1/2 cups water and salt to taste. Pressure cook 25 minutes or bring the meat to a boil, lower flame and simmer until tender.
In a blender or food processor, place the tomatillo, chile, garlic, onion, epazote, hoja santa or avocado leaf, and enough of the meat broth to blend until smooth. Transfer to a saucepan in which a little oil has been heated, add meat and remaining meat broth and simmer 15-20 minutes (see NOTE.) Add purslane and watercress and simmer another 10 minutes. Serve with sliced avocado and white rice.
NOTE: Tomatillos vary in acidity. If you find that, after cooking, they are a bit too acid for your taste, take Señora Reyes' advice and add a pinch of sugar or bicarbonate of soda to reduce acidity.
