After several excellent answers to my question about what to do with purslane, I took people’s advice and decided to keep the purslane raw. But what to do? I liked the purslane tabbouleh idea, but I didn’t have quite the right array of ingredients on hand. But it seemed like the purslane + cooked grains idea could probably work with a variety of flavors. My garden is full of Thai basil right now, so I went for some Southeast Asian flavors.
First I trimmed, washed, and dried the purslane. Then I chopped it roughly, so everything would be in easy-to-mix pieces. I combined this with about half a cup of fresh cooked wheatberries and a large handful of chopped Thai basil.
The dressing was a mixture of minced shallot, minced ginger, minced jalapeño, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and a splash of agave nectar. You could vary the amounts to suit the flavors you like best.
It may not win a beauty contest, and chopped purslane does have an unfortunate tendency to get slightly slimy after sitting around for too long. But the overall taste and texture were divine. And for being so light, it was amazingly filling. I ate this salad for dinner, had a bite of dark chocolate for dessert, and didn’t feel hungry the rest of the night.
According to this website, purslane has a high “fullness” factor, yet one cup is only 7 calories! It also suggests that grains are the best nutritional complement. http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2604/2
If it is also delicious, what a prize!
So what does the purslane taste like, exactly? Is it a bitter green?
No, it’s actually rather tart. Like a fleshy, lemony version parsley, crossed with spinach. Maybe a tinge of weedy bitterness, but not in a peppery arugula kind of way.