slides: How to Use Purslane in Your Summer Dishes

Saturday, July 25, 2015

Linda Dalal Sawaya, GoLocalPDX Contributor

Purslane—a common garden supine weed © linda dalal sawaya 2015

Purslane, an internationally common, succulent weed originating in India, known in Arabic as baqle, contains more Omega-3 fatty acids (α-linolenic acid) than any other leafy vegetable plant. Why is it a super food? 100 grams of fresh purslane leaves—botanical name portulaca oleracea—provides about 350 mg of α-linolenic acid. As many health-conscious folks know, omega-3's are antioxidants.

Purslane is also an excellent source of Vitamin A (1320 IU/100 g, providing 44% of RDA) with one of the highest amounts among green leafy vegetables. Vitamin A is a known powerful natural antioxidant. But beyond health benefits, I found enough baqle to make the zingy purslane salad recipe from Alice's Kitchen: Traditional Lebanese Cooking that my mother made for us; and it was so good, I ate the entire salad! The weed grows in beds planted with other veggies on pathways, under a summer squash plant; this year, it's really thriving. It can even be found growing from sidewalk cracks, although these weeds are not advisable to pick.

What i love so much is that it just shows up in the garden on it's own like clockwork, in the middle of summer. Yet this year something additional happened: I planted a variety of seeds from my Lebanese village that has a very different growth pattern than the one in my Portland garden. It grows upright instead of creeping flatly along the soil. My cousins in Lebanon harvested several long meandering stems for our luncheon salad that were truly impressive. Compared to the supine, earth-hugging varieties I've seen here, this Lebanese variety stands tall and elegant, reaching for the sun. All varieties of it taste tart and are crunchy and juicy, with more tartness when picked in the early morning.

Purslane—Lebanese baqle—on my cousin's kitchen counter in Lebanon © linda dalal sawaya 2015

While in Lebanon last fall at the Beirut Souk el Tayeb, which translates from Arabic to "the market of good taste", I tasted a fabulous variation of our savory triangular spinach pies -- baked on a saj and filled with purslane instead of spinach, plus parsley, spearmint, onion, and tomato. Just like Lebanese traditional spinach pies, it was seasoned with lemon juice, olive oil, sumac, salt and pepper. As soon as my Lebanese purslane is big enough, I can't wait to be baking this purslane version in my oven on a pizza stone.

To make the salatat baqle, wash and drain the purslane along with Italian parsley and spearmint, removing the thick stems. Chop all the greens and tomatoes, and dress them with the traditional garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil dressing. If you don't have enough purslane to make a salad on its own, baqle is added to any salad (e.g. especially Lebanesefattoush). I add home grown tomatoes to the salad.

The Spanish name name for purslane is verdolaga and their special way to include purslane in a dish is by cooking it into stews with meat. The Greeks and Turks use it in salads; Indians use it cooked and raw—it is truly an internationally appreciated and nutritious weed! Look for it in the farmers' markets if you don't find it in your garden. You can also purchase seeds for purslane to sow in your own garden. Enjoy!

—Linda Dalal Sawaya is a Portland artist, cook, Master Gardener, and author of Alice's Kitchen: Traditional Lebanese Cooking.

Remember, as my mother Alice said, "If you make it with love, it will be delicious!"

Linda will be at the 5th annual Arab Festival on Sunday, August 2, 2015 signing and selling copies of Alice's Kitchen: Traditional Lebanese Cooking at Alpenrose Dairy in Beaverton from 11 am to 7 pm.