Purslane Salad
Posted by in Food
Purslane was part of our latest CSA share. I’d never had it before. This small green is actually considered a weed, but it’s edible. I was game to try it. After some noodling around on the web, I decided to just go with a simple salad (you can see the purslane best up at the top left of the photo – the small leaves). I cleaned the purslane and stripped most of it from its stems which I didn’t want to eat. I mixed it with an equal portion of other salad greens, then I cut up some black cherries to add to the salad. I mixed up a simple vinaigrette with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, herbs, a bit of sugar and some garlic and dressed it with that.
The purslane has a mild flavor. It’s a milky, juicy kind of green. I didn’t mind it, but I wasn’t wildly excited about it either. I would probably skip it in favor of other greens, but it’s nice to be familiar with something that grows wild and is free for the foraging if you ever come across it. Have you ever tried purslane?
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I have this in my garden. I have been told I should eat it, rather than pull it up. I tasted one leaf and was not convinced, but I take my hat off to you for trying it in a salad.
We eat purslane often. It is the most nutritious plant in our garden, even better than kale. Did you know it has the highest source of plant-based Omega 3 fats? Fantastic. We pop some in with whatever other salad greens we are eating.
Thanks for the tip. It didn’t come home from the CSA this week, but hopefully we will be able to try it again.
It grows easily in our garden (I’ve stopped calling it a weed!) and I try to use it regularly. It’s so healthy. If you don’t love it in a salad, you might try adding some leaves to a smoothie.