That Weed In Your Yard? It's the New Superfood.

For years I'd been battling the red-stemmed, succulent-like weed with the fat, oval leaves, wondering what in the heck kind of invader it was. It wasn't particularly hard to pull out, but it was pretty darn persistent, coming back every year like those door-to-door fundraising dudes with their clipboards. I'd seen it in other people's yards, too, even growing out of the most inhospitable cracks in the sidewalk.

Purslane in a grain salad.

Then, out at Ayers Creek Farm one day, I saw its familiar shape and made some kind of smart remark to Anthony Boutard about needing to do a better job weeding his rows. First, never mention weeds to an organic farmer…the plant you're pointing at might be a valuable nitrogen-fixing cover crop for soil improvement or be providing shade for a sprout that's just peeking out of the soil. He informed me that the "weed" I was disparaging was purslane, one of the bonus crops he sells at the farmers' market, along with other field greens like chickweed, lamb's quarters and more.

Purslane in buttermilk soup.

In Theo's, a Greek restaurant in the town of Penticton in British Columbia's Okanagan wine region, I saw purslane offered as a salad on the menu and pointed it out to Dave. The owner overheard us, and came over to tell the remarkable story of how his mother, Mary Theodosakis, was walking through a farmer's field and saw it growing under a plant in one of his rows. Having grown up foraging the plant called glistritha in her native Crete, she asked the surprised farmer if she could take some to serve at her restaurant. Long story short, the farmer started growing it just for her and then, when her customers began asking where they could buy some, he began growing it as a cash crop. (Full story here.)

Crunchy when fresh, with a mild, lemony flavor, it's most often used in salads, either as the main ingredient or combined with other greens and grains—try this terrific main dish recipe for tuna, grain and purslane salad. My friend Linda Colwell follows Deborah Madison's lead and includes it in a buttermilk and frikeh soup. Anthony likes to do a quick and easy pickled purslane (recipe below) that keeps in the fridge and can be featured on an antipasto platter or as an accompaniment to grilled meats.

Incredibly high in omega-3 fatty acids—more than any other vegetable—it's also a great source of beta-Carotene, with five times the vitamin E of spinach, according to an article by my friend Leslie Kelly. No wonder it's starting to get some buzz as the new Superfood.

Pickled Purslane
From Anthony Boutard at Ayers Creek Farm

Our staff keeps a nice kitchen garden outside of their front doors. For them, the plants they call verdolagas are an essential green. They are delicious boiled, sautéed, pickled or as a salad. The Lebanese serve them with yoghurt. The French salt purslane overnight before adding it to a salad. Boiled, it can be dressed with a bit of olive oil and ground pepper. Or mix the wilted leaves into a potato salad.

For us, purslane is an essential pickle. Many books suggest pickling just the stem. We prefer to pickle the whole shoot—leaves and stem together. This recipe works for two or three bags of purslane:

We heat and add a tablespoon of salt to 1-1/2 cups of water, then mix in an equal amount of white wine vinegar.  Add a few cloves of garlic, quartered, a tablespoon of peppercorns and a dried pepper.  Drop the purslane into the heated vinegar mixture and let it wilt for a bit.  Pack the purslane and vinegar mix in a mason jar. If you need to, top off with vinegar and water in equal proportions. Store in the refrigerator. We start using them about an hour later, but they will keep for several months.  Some recipes call for full strength vinegar, but we much prefer it diluted.

Farm Bulletin: Winter? Already?

While most of us feel like summer has barely begun here in the Willamette Valley, contributor Anthony Boutard of Ayers Creek Farm is getting his winter crops planted.

High summer is a frenetic blend of tending, harvesting and planting for the winter. In the tending department, our farm staff spent four days thinning fruit in the vineyard. We remove about three quarters of the clusters, and make sure they are positioned where the air will circulate around them. The vineyard floor looks as though a storm passed through it. Last year, we neglected this task in the frenzy, and the table grapes with a muscat in their background were garbage. There were too many clusters on the plant, and what should have been a sublime treat was instead flavorless and mildew-ridden. Last year's loss made us more aggressive thinners, and we hope the time is rewarded.

The winter crops are looking good. The most important planting went in about two weeks ago on the new moon. The chicories (photo, top) take about ten days to emerge, and we hold our breath every year hoping they will sprout in good order. Neat files of chicory and rutabagas are now marking the rows. This week we turned our attention planting out the cabbage and cauliflower seedlings. In the past, we seeded them directly into the field, and the result was amateurish to say the least. This year, Charlie Harris of Flamingo Ridge loaned us his vacuum seeder allowing us to grow a good number of starts. If all goes well, we might have a good supply of cabbage for the market, and sauerkraut for our table.

Field corn and beans are looking good, and our decision to plant them may be rewarded. The winter squash is a complete failure. Although we have always seeded them directly, the cabbage experience has us thinking we may grow some squash starts next year. For long season crops such as squash, roots and chicories, the schedule is unforgiving. A second planting is possible, but never as satisfactory.

Want to drive growers crazy, and watch their eyes twitch and the teeth grind? Wait until they a have a table full of beautiful boysenberries or purslane, and ask them if they will have more next week because the kitchen is so hot you don't feel like putting up preserves or pickling the purslane.

Yes, we know it's hot, we were out in the field harvesting them all day Saturday. And we also know how hard it is to get market on time; we were up at 5 am loading the van. We also know the season is short, and a hailstorm or spike in the temperature can wipe out what remains. In days, the leaf miners with render the purslane unusable. For us that's an old refrain. Every grower knows the heartbreak and frustration of returning with with an excess of some beautiful fruit or vegetable. Two weeks ago, we returned from the market, put away the tent and baskets, changed over the irrigation, and then made a big bunch of purslane pickles. Nothing better than a hot kitchen at the end of market day.

Pickled Purslane

Purslane has a slightly tart quality and is very high in Omega 3 fatty acids. Our staff keeps a nice kitchen garden outside of their front doors. For them, verdolagas are an essential green. They are delicious boiled, sautéed, pickled or as a salad. The Lebanese serve them with yoghurt. The French salt purslane overnight before adding it to a salad. Boiled, it can be dressed with a bit olive oil and ground pepper. Or mix the wilted leaves into a potato salad.

For us, purslane is an essential pickle. Many books suggest pickling just the stem. We prefer to pickle the whole shoot—leaves and stem together. This recipe works for two or three bags of purslane:

We heat and add a tablespoon of salt to 1-1/2 cups of water, then mix in an equal amount of white wine vinegar.  Add a few cloves of garlic, quartered, a tablespoon of peppercorns and a dried pepper.  Drop the purslane into the heated vinegar mixture and let it wilt for a bit.  Pack the purslane and vinegar mix in a mason jar. If you need to, top off with vinegar and water in equal proportions. Store in the refrigerator. We start using them about an hour later, but they will keep for several months.  Some recipes call for full strength vinegar, but we much prefer it diluted.

Purslane photo from the Oklahoma Biological Survey.