One of the weeds they've been combating on the farm is Purlsane. When Kate traveled to a third world country last year to work on an organic farm, they ate Purslane and found it very tasty, a bit like watercress. She brought some home this past week and we had a really great meal (much to my surprise)! Even our youngest like it.
I love that we're learning about native wild edibles and actually making REAL food we can eat and ENJOY! How many wonderful food adventures await us that we never knew about?
Thanks, Kate!
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| Photo Credit: World Crops |
Purslane Facts
• Rich in fiber, minerals, and vitamins
• five times more omega-3 fatty acids than spinach
• high in vitamins A, B, and C
• rich in anti-depressant and anxiety combative substances
• high in iron and calcium
• also a source of protein
For additional nutrition information, visit Mother Earth News Power-Packed Purslane.
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| Photo Credit: Plant Photos Wiki |
• Indian and Greek herbalists celebrate its healing qualities
• Medieval herbal sources describe Purslane as "cold", meaning that it was considered a cure for a "burning" (malfunctioning) heart and liver
• Greeks call it a "blood-cleansing" herb
• In Mexico, Purslane is considered good for diabetics and it is often cooked with pork and tomatillos
• The Chinese us it in Oriental medicine
• The French eat it with fish
Sauteed Purslane with Mushrooms and Tomatoes
Serves 4; gluten-free
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can of diced tomatoes
2 C. mushrooms, diced
1/2 C. olive oil
1 large bag/bunch of Purslane
2 T. fresh oregano, chopped
1 lemon, juiced
2 T. fresh basil, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
salt & pepper to taste
tempe, optional
feta cheese, optional
Saute the garlic, onion, and mushrooms in olive oil until translucent. In a large bowl, mix tomatoes, Purslane, lemon juice, basil, and oregano. Add the Purslane mix to the saute pan and salt and pepper to taste.
If desired, saute slices of tempe and then crumble on top along with feta cheese (or just add feta cheese) and serve.
Please be sure you learn to correctly identify Purslane or any wild plant before eating! Spurge (wiry and milky inside if you break open a stem) grows alongside Purslane, looks very similar, and is toxic!
Bon Appetite!
Sounds like it's very good for you. I don't think I would trust myself to pick it.
ReplyDeleteThis grows wild in my yard. It is similar to verdolaga. My family has eaten the verdolaga for years. I'm not sure what the difference is but this is really interesting. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteJoanie, I may be mistaken, but I believe it is the same plant by a different name.
DeleteI just learned about this plant a couple of weeks ago. It usually tries to take over my garden every year. :-) I added to crab cakes instead of the parsley and also added to a fresh salad for dinner. I really liked it. Thanks for more info on it!
ReplyDeleteMmmmm.... Crab cakes! That sounds like it would be awesome with a bit of Purslane. I haven't had crab cakes in years... Maybe I should give that a try.
DeleteI think I might have purslane all over but you're right, I'm not taking a chance. I purchased some seeds and will make my own patch!
ReplyDeleteJust an FYI, it can be invasive!
DeleteWow! And here I've been trying to get rid of it out of my garden! I was wondering if you happen to know of any way to use it making soap. Apparently there are some great properties in the plant that would be nice in a soap or salve, but I can't find any info on either drying or making an oil, etc.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
Anonymous Homesteader
No I haven't, but that sounds interesting!
DeleteThis is fantastic, Kate! We do waste so much than can be utilized here in our country (what an understatement). Thanks for the great information. -Tammy
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure this is the plant that I keep pulling OUT of my flower beds.... how can I be certain?
ReplyDeleteDonna, I understand your hesitation. You would not believe how many times I asked my daughter, "Are you SURE this is Purslane and not spurge? How do you know?" I found this entry on another blog where the writer does a good job telling about the two (I know nothing else about this blog/blogger, so not necessarily recommending it one way or the other - just this particular entry).
Deletehttp://hotdogjam.wordpress.com/2009/09/01/purslane-or-spurge/
Spurge is toxic, but supposedly it won't kill you. No one wants to be sick, but it's good to know that you shouldn't die from eating it.
I pull this stuff and treat it like a weed. Now I will look at it differently.
ReplyDeleteIt LOVES heat, Maybelline. I'm ten degrees cooler than the farm where my daughter works and so far I haven't had any Purslane here, but I could see where you could potentially have a ton!
DeleteThere's all kinds of edibles out there! I'm trying to find a local foraging class...
ReplyDeleteAwesome. I've been wondering what this is for the past two years! Ever since we started using our own compost and manure on the garden, this weed has taken over! It's so stinkin' fast. Thanks for the info!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! I weeded a bunch of this today! Next time, I'll just bring it on inside.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a good post and great to know!! Thank you for the wealth of info (:
ReplyDeleteAll my best,
Michele xoxo
hi Kate
ReplyDeleteYou know what? I tried to make this 2 times before (finally) successfully pleased my family.
But it is worth the hard work. LOL.
Anyway, thank you for making me look like a professional. :)
Hey, if you don’t mind, you can submit your sauteed purslane with mushrooms and tomatoes photos to http://www.foodporn.net/ to make others hungry.
You know it’s fun to make others hungry. Especially when they are so hungry they finally want to create your recipe. :)
It is worth the try. :)
Thanks!
My pigs love it... I never knew we could eat it. Thanks! Cheri Kaelin @ Angel Hill Farm
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of this plant before so it probably doesn't grow around here. But one thing I wanted to mention is that we have some friends from Kenya and she has educated me on the fact that alot of leaves of our veggie plants are edible. They eat squash leaves and bean leaves and also sweet potato leaves. You have to be careful about how much you trim off each plant so that the fruit will still produce but I thought that was very interesting. She had once told me that they have 30-40 different varieties of greens and now I know what she ment.
ReplyDeleteI have eaten greens from radishes, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, and beets. When it got too hot for many of my spring plants to produce, we ate the greens (I researched carefully which were edible), and I blanched and froze what we couldn't eat, and didn't feel a bit dissappointed at my lack of broccoli. I have purslane all over my yards and gardens, but it is common purslane. I grew golden purslane from seed this year and the leaves are much bigger. Purslane can actually be benificial some crops.
DeleteGood grief! This is the main weed in my pottage!
ReplyDeleteAnd to think, I didn't know what I was going to make for dinner tonight!
You're the best Amy!
And I wanted to say thank you! I have been getting TONS of traffic from your website lately!
Love,
Angela
Parisienne Farmgirl
thank you! We will be trying it this weekend....I had no idea this was an edible weed - tell your daughter thank you as well.
ReplyDeletexo+blessings,
Anne Marie
I'm so glad you guys discovered this!! I just wrote a post about purslane a couple of weeks ago. For so long I had been pulling these "weeds" out of my garden, until I discovered that it was edible! Now they get to stay where they are, and I've been enjoying them in salads and meals. I especially enjoyed Huevos con Verdolagas (Eggs with purslane). It's SO GOOD. Here's the recipe... you gotta try it Amy! http://newlifeonahomestead.com/2012/06/cooking-with-purslane-recipe-huevos-con-verdolagas/ I'm thinking about dehydrating a bunch to turn into a "super food" powder to add to soups, stews, smoothies, etc. It can also be used as a thickener instead of flour for gravies, stews, etc. :)
ReplyDeleteHow did I miss your post on that?? Thanks for letting me know. A friend tried it in a smoothie and said it was great! Let me know how the dehydrating goes.
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