Friday, July 20, 2012

Do You Know about Purslane Salad and the Omega's in your weeds?




There has been a lot written lately on using Purslane As Food. This is what Purslane looks like my darlings. Have you been pulling it from your garden and throwing it away? Well...have you?
The new trend it to actually plant Purslane for Omega 3′s in your garden! Who knew? Once a weed, now a healthy garden green. It is actually really unique in flavor and delightful!  When the owner of Harper's Nursury  (John Harper) here in Arizona asked me to share my fabulous  Purslane Recipe with his readers I was excited! Today we went on down and picked some purslane up from their nursury. Every time we are there at Harper's, my boys insist on feeding the dolphins goldfish in their pond. It is amazing how big those bad-boys are! The fish...not my kids.
 One of them actually comes out of the water and is almost on the land when one of us comes to the edge.
 While I was there I also noticed the 7 varieties of basil that they had! Wow!! In light of the fact that I'm teaching a herb and spice class tomorrow at Honeyville farms on the the medicinal and culinary uses of herbs and spices...this was just awesome to see!

Look at this basil!


Shall we make Thai food tonight?!
I'll probably save it for the class tomorrow and be giving some of them away!
 Between the gorgous herbs at Harper's and the Love Grow's Farms organic veggies...we're good to go!
 Here is my Purslane Recipe

Chef Tess’ Citrus-Mustard Grilled Zucchini Salad with Purslane and Tomatoes
 • 2 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
• 1 tsp orange zest
• ¼ c fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus additional for brushing zucchini
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 4 zucchini (1 3/4 to 2 lb total), halved lengthwise
• 12 oz purslane, thick stems removed (4 cups)
• 10 oz pear or cherry tomatoes, halved lengthwise

Make dressing:
Whisk together zest, lemon juice, shallot, mustard, and salt in a small bowl. Add oil in a slow stream, whisking until dressing is emulsified. Whisk in pepper and parsley.
Grill zucchini:
Lightly brush zucchini all over with oil. When fire is hot (you can hold your hand 5 inches above rack for 1 to 2 seconds), grill zucchini, cut sides down first, on lightly oiled grill rack, uncovered, turning once, until zucchini are just tender, 8 to 12 minutes total. Transfer to a cutting board and cool slightly, then cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices.
Toss zucchini with purslane, tomatoes, and dressing in a large bowl. Serve immediately.

There you go! Make some weed purslane salad! Isn't it cool to try new things?!

Always My Very Best,
Your Friend Chef Tess

2 comments:

SharleneT said...

I love purslane and have quite a stand on the north side of my house that keeps me in lovely dishes. I think most people don't like it because it's tiny and more work than larger greens. I've got a couple of recipes on my blog for purslane, too, you might want to check out. I LOVE this salad combination. Thanks for sharing.

Holly/Shelfreliance said...

I am excited to give this a try! Thank you for sharing your recipe. It sounds yummy!