By Jeanie Rose | Greens
Glorious Summer! Wander out to the garden and gather some crunchy cucumbers, a ripe tomato or two, and a handful of purslane for the main ingredients of a memorable salad. Purslane? Yes, that weed you’ve been tossing into the compost is a wonderfully nutritious summer green – as well as tasty. Purslane is a bit sour with citrus undertones and makes a perfect foil for cucumbers. Use as much of it in your salad as your palate accepts or as your garden provides. (The cracks in your sidewalk may even offer a bit of purslane.)
In just a few minutes of washing and chopping, seasoning and tossing, you will have a wonderful salad. You can certainly add some pieces of cooked chicken and call this dinner. Serve the salad with homemade flat bread brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with zaatar.
The ingredients listed below do not indicate amounts. Don’t get hung up on amounts of anything here. Work with what you have and what you most enjoy. No garden tomatoes? Consider using a few dried tomatoes stored in oil. Sliver them up before adding to the salad. You don’t like sumac? OK! Just go for salt and pepper. This salad is wonderful. Put it together and season it to suit yourself.
You will find this dish is most flavorful when served fresh and at room temperature. If you have leftovers, bring them back to room temperature before serving.
Cleaning your garden greens
Leafy Greens: How To Choose, Ideas For Cooking
Your Next Greens Cookbook: Greens, Glorious Greens
Homemade kale chips — Your way, your flavors
An extra-nutritious polenta with some added wild greens
A green salad with a touch of India to break you out of your salad boredom
Asian chicken lettuce wraps
The two boys who won’t eat vegetables, a story that has nothing to do with hiding greens in meatloaf or zucchini cake…
Purslane has been called ‘Pig Weed’ here in Australia… and is regarded as a nuisance weed as it just won’t ‘roll overand die’! About 1945-6 when times were really tough on our farm, a kindly older Childcraft home-visit nurse suggested using pigweed as a vegetable (I heard her and watched my mother’s face) because it was good for kids- and it certainly was plentiful! Needless to say, eating a weed was not a popular idea! It thrived in the same soil as our drought-affected beans and lettuce! Can’t eat weeds! Oh dear! Love to try it but alas there is… Read more »
Go get that rocket Joan!! I think we may even have a few recipes around here under arugula.
Amanda