Wild Foods Series: Pretty Purslane

The greenmarket where I buy produce is filled with booths, owned and run almost exclusively by Hispanic families. In the last few years, I’ve seen an increasing appeal to the Latino market- more vegetables and fruits traditionally eaten by South and Central American people have appeared there, like fresh green chickpeas, which I sampled a few years ago. I really like encountering produce that I wouldn’t find in the grocery store.

Regarding purslane, I have hoped for a few years now that it would appear as a “weed” in my garden, with no such luck. I’ve been keeping my eyes out for it, and considered asking around for a cutting. Purslane is often considered to be a garden pest, but it is an edible and highly nutritious plant! It has more Omega-3 fatty acids than any other leafy vegetable, as well as high amounts of Vitamin C and other antioxidants. It’s a nutrient powerhouse, really. The leaves and the tender bits of the shoots are edible, and may be eaten raw or cooked. I had never encountered it in person, but definitely wanted to try (and grow) it.

So imagine how pleased I was, as I entered the market on Sunday, to see a box of what looked like purslane! It was at a particular booth that often has unusual leafy vegetables- typically vegetables that I can’t identify, but that are traditional foods among Latinos. Not having seen purslane before, I wasn’t entirely sure that’s what I was seeing, but it sure looked like the pictures on the internet. I excitedly pointed it out to my partner and asked the girl at the booth “Is that purslane?”

“Oh no,” she said, “this isn’t purslane. It’s called verdolagas.” She went on to tell me that it is good in mole and also with squash.

Now, I am sure that those of you who followed the link to Wikipedia get where I am going with this. I looked closely at the herb, ate a leaf, and decided that it sure looked like purslane to me, and that I would bring it home (it was edible, after all!) and look on the internet to see if verdolagas was another name for purslane. And guess what? It was! Verdolagas is the Spanish name for purslane, which is also called pigweed (please comment and tell me what it’s called in your home!) I found this to be a neat (and funny) lesson in the way vegetables and herbs can have different names in different regions and languages. If you live in an area that is bilingual, near the border of another country, or just multi-ethnic, it’s good to bone up on the various names by which an herb can be known. Before my next visit to the market, I’m going to study up on other “regional greens” and see what other adventures I can have.

Once I had the purslane home, I wanted to cook it that very night; it degrades quickly in the refrigerator. I had purchased some red potatoes (we call them “new potatoes” here) as well as some lemons, so I decided to make Red Potatoes with Purslane. I did make one alteration to the recipe: I let the purslane leaves rest with the hot potatoes briefly, just to wilt them a bit. I found the raw purslane to be almost tasteless and I wanted to see how it would taste slightly cooked. (It didn’t have much flavor cooked, either, but the taste was a little stronger.)

Purslane is known for rooting and growing easily, so after I stripped the stems of their leaves and tender shoots, I placed all the large stems in cups of water on my windowsill. In around a week I should see some roots; once the roots are well-developed, I’ll plant this herb in several parts of my garden. It is known to grow in just about every kind of soil- this plant is tough and persistent! I also think it’s pretty, so it will make a nice filler or soil-cover. I can’t wait to be harvesting purslane from my own garden; we’ll eat it again and again!

This post is part of the Wild Foods Series.