Food - Purslane at Saratoga Farmers' Market

You are not alone. Last Saturday at the market I made a salad using this green. Most had never heard of Purslane and others considered it a weed. Yet Purslane is one of the most nutritious greens on the planet. It has more beta-carotene than spinach, high levels of magnesium and potassium as well as alpha linolenic acid, a type of omega-3 fatty acid. Historically herbalists have used it for an anti-inflammatory for the treatment of arthritis respiratory and circulatory ailments. Perhaps, its greatest attribute for today’s calorie counting society, is that it has only 15 calories per 100 g portion. That’s a lot of benefit without much gain!

So how does it taste? It is unique, but in a very pleasant way. Slightly bitter, small and slightly crunchy and tastes superb when mixed in with other ingredients. It is wildly popular in salads in Greece, dried and canned in Russia, and is a favorite comfort food in Mexico where it is eaten in omelets, rolled in tortillas or put in soups and stews. Purslane can be substituted for spinach or wild greens in lasagnas, filled pastas, and Greek-style tarts. Recently Purslane has become the rage in some of the trendiest NYC and California restaurants. Below is the recipe I used at the market. It’s about as simple as it gets - I would encourage you to experiment and add other ingredients to it such as cucumber or vinaigrette or even some mint. The possibilities and the rewards are endless with this green.

It is important that you use fresh Purslane. There is only one vendor at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market that sells it and that is Otrembiak Farm on Saturday. If you need to store it, wrap purslane in a moist paper towel and store it in a plastic bag in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator. Always wash the green and remove larger stems. Some recipes use leaves only. On Saturday my plants were young and tender so I used stem and leaves combined and chopped.

Purslane and Yogurt Salad

• 2 cups Purslane leaves or one

bunch from Otrembiak Farm,

chopped

• 1-cup plain Argyle Cheese factory

yogurt

•Salt and coarse black pepper

to taste

• 3 tbsp soft goat cheese

(Sweet Spring farm)

Mix the ingredients together and serve at once.