This highly invasive edible succulent is probably growing in your backyard and makes for a delicious addition to any meal.
Every spring I’m delighted by the wild plants that turn up uninvited in my backyard. There’s a forest of stinging nettles that are perfect for pizza and pasta. There’s blankets of nasturtiums with electric orange flowers to add to salads and stir into secret potions made by my four year old. My favorite backyard delight is the purslane.
With its slick red stems, plump green leaves, and rigorous growth habit, this succulent weed can simply be dismissed by the unacquainted gardener who sees it as annoying. However, for the expanding group of us in the know, it is a gourmet and medicinal food item not to be missed.
“It grows wild here and has for decades,” says Elina Hood at Chino Farm in Rancho Santa Fe. She is no stranger to the intricacies of lesser-known native plants, both farmed and wild. “Bikers will come by and tell me they see it on their routes. They want to know if it’s safe to eat.” She assures them they can as long as it hasn’t been contaminated by pesticides or some kind of animal urine.
“It goes hand in hand with quelite or lamb’s quarters.” Elina points to a spiky wild spinach bunched on the produce table. “Especially when we have a lot of rain, we find them growing together in between the corn.”
Finding Purslane
Purslane is a wild-growing edible succulent that looks like it could have been dredged up from the bottom of the ocean. It feels more like seaweed and is 93 percent water, which might have something to do with its resemblance to some kind of ocean kelp – my own personal theory.
If you’re having trouble or apprehensions around foraging for it, you can find it at your local farmers market or Mexican market where it goes under its Spanish name, verdolaga. At J.R. Organics farm, purslane has gained popularity as more people have become aware of the superfood.
“We just actually added it to our online store last week and many people are ordering it for the health benefits. Once people become educated on what it is, they want it,” says Beverly Wilson, noting an uptick in interest in the weed that grows untamed on the farm.
Health Benefits
Purslane is well known in many cultures to be beneficial for health. Here in the Western world these beliefs have been quantified and validated by science, and indeed it is not hyperbole when I say that purslane is one of the most nutrient-dense plants on the planet.
It contains more omega 3 fatty acids than most fish oils on the market as well as glutathione, melatonin, and betalain. It’s also high in vitamins A, C, and E, magnesium, manganese, potassium, iron, calcium, folate, copper, and phosphorus.
A Versatile Ingredient
Purslane is pleasantly crunchy, salty, and sour. While it’s incredibly versatile and can be added to literally almost any dish in any capacity, I prefer to think of it as an herb and use it like one.
I chop it up and stir it into my salads for depth of flavor and mouthfeel. I’ll toss it in with the tomato, onion, and cilantro in a salsa. It can be blended into smoothies and thrown into stir fries. It’s delicious with eggs (cooked or raw as a garnish), and I’ve been making quick pickles with it for a tangy side. Honestly, when purslane is in season, which is all summer long, I like to chop it up and put it on top of everything like I would parsley or cilantro.
It’s Wednesday and I mentioned to Elina that the bunch I had purchased on Saturday (and have been using sparingly since) is beginning to lose its zhuzh. “Yeah,” she says with a sigh. “All of these things have a life force and it doesn’t last forever.”
Purslane is available from late spring to early fall. Communicating with your local farmers via farmers markets will be the best way to know when to find it.
