A Weed Worth Keeping
I have never planted purslane yet it appears every spring in my garden. Like many other weeds, purslane is not only edible but also far more nutritious than many of the crops that we plant! Learn more about purslane’s health benefits and how to cook purslane.
Common purslane, Portulaca oleracea, is a succulent used in Greek and Italian cooking, even though it’s often seen as a weed here. Immigrants from India originally brought it with them, where it has escaped into gardens and backyards and is now naturalized all over the world. Over the many centuries, purslane has been treated as a medicinal wonder, as a cultivated ornamental, as an annoying weed, and as an edible leafy green!
Purslane leaves resembles those of a tiny jade plant. When plucked for recipes, they lend a lemony, tangy flavor that’s reminiscent of sorrel; it’s a good substitute for watercress, spinach, and arugula.
Purslane Health Benefits
Amazingly, purslane is one of the world’s most nutritious wild edible plants. It’s now considered a “superfood” is showing up in farmer’s markets and even “fancy” restaurants all over the country often in salads or sandwiches. Meanwhile, gardeners will find purslane growing right in their vegetable bed!
Nutritionally, purslane can boast:
- Seven times the beta-carotene of carrots!
- Six times more vitamin E than spinach!
- Fourteen times more Omega 3 fatty acids (found mostly in fish)!
- Significant amounts of vitamins A and C, as well as calcium, iron, magnesium and potassium and antioxidants
Purslane is also said to be a natural remedy for insomnia. It has many of the same health benefits as other leafy greens.
What is Purslane: Crop or Weed?
Purslane is a plant that most of us here in North America consider a weed. Because I now know it’s a healthy green, I let it grow in between my rows of carrots and beets and in other places where it isn’t bothering my veggies. Once it is touching my crops, I take it out and eat it!
To harvest purslane, it’s a good idea to pull it up completely, then cut off the stems from the piece attached to the root.
Compost the rest of the plant (the root) or feed to your chickens! Some companies are now actually selling the purslane seeds so that it can also be added to a garden on purpose. A delightful, nutritious extra for the enthusiastic gardener.
How to Cook Purslane
How do people eat purslane? Once you’ve cut off the root, the individual stems needs to be washed carefully. Purslane has little crevices to hold the soil, so you really need to use a hose to get ALL the dirt off.
- Purslane is usually tossed into salads or added to soups in the Mediterranean area
- In Mexico, it’s a favorite addition to omelettes.
- Purslane can also be lightly steamed for 4 to 5 minutes, then served with salt and a little butter.
- Purslane goes very well mixed with cucumber and topped with some oil-and-vinegar dressing.
- Also try adding purslane to smoothies or juicing it.
Purslane Recipes
Here’s a great purslane salad: Fingerling-Potato and Purslane Salad with Grainy-Mustard Dressing.
Or try adding this nutrient-packed green to any soup. I like to add to my purslane to my bone broth soup which is delicious! (You can also add seasonal lamb’s quarters, dandelions, purslane, nettles, amaranth, and herbs for health.)
Another option is to freeze purslane to add it to soups through the cold winter months! See how to freeze greens.
What do you think of purslane? Would you add it to your diet? Let us know!
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I started finding this plant growing in my garden about 3 or 4 years ago. It started out growing in little patches; but, then I was finding it everywhere and lots of it. I figured that it was a weed and constantly pulled it out so it wouldn't compete with my veggies. (I guessed from looking closely at it that it was some sort of succulent and didn't want it hogging a lot of the water from my plants).
I then heard that it was used in salads by some people; but, wasn't too keen on that because it's kind of fuzzy and thick-leaved. By last year, I pretty much eradicated almost all of it. This year, I've seen much more articles and conversations about it, its nutritional value, and other properties so just today I pulled-up some of it (it's back this year and I'm finding it poking-up more-so than last year) and I figured that I'd try it. Didn't figure out how though yet. Will come back and write about it after I've eaten it. (I have a question though--do you pick the leaves off or eat it stem [without the roots and just above] and all? For now, I'll play it safe and just eat the leaves! LOL ;o)
Young, thin stems can be eaten, but we would recommend just using the leaves from larger pieces!
PS I wondered about the stem because some of them are quite thick and succulent-like -- what is the "sap" like?
I used to eat this raw as a small child without knowing anything about it.
I was curious, tried it, and liked it! I had no idea it was "good for me".
Now I'll look for it around the cabin and add it to salads and soups.
I'm in North Carolina, Piedmont region, I've never seen purslane growing wild like a weed. BUT I always buy it at a plant place and grow it in a pot because it has such lovely flowers. Is this the same as the wild purslane?
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