Purslane and Potato Salad

Eli — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:31:39 +0000

Last Saturday at the farmers market, I saw a new (to me) vegetable: purslane. I’d heard of it a few times before, but only vaguely. I sampled a leaf and really liked the flavor: raw purslane has a pleasant crunch, not unlike the pod of a sugar snap pea. Its flavor is mild and spinach-like, but with a tart, lemony note; almost a milder sorrel. It was tasty and I’m a sucker for anything new or unusual; I had to pick it up.

I asked the guys selling it what to do with it and they said it could be eaten raw in salads or cooked and used like spinach in most recipes. When I got home I started looking online for recipes. I found several recipes for a Mexican pork and purslane stew that sounded good, but it’s not stew weather. I found a few recipes for traditional mayo-based potato salad with purslane and a few mentions of purslane in lettuce salads. (I did try it in a lettuce salad; it’s a welcome addition. Both the crunch and the zip are nice.)

I didn’t find anything quite to my liking, so I decided to just wing it. I had some purple fingerling potatoes and spring knob onions from the same farmers market and I thought lemon would work well with the purslane. I tossed everything together and was really pleased with how it turned out. This recipe will definitely be made again. Oh yeah, and it’s really good for you. Purslane has a lot of omega-3 fatty acids and the salad is really low in fat. (I love when good food just happens to be good for you.)

Purslane and Potato Salad
I’ve made this both with and without olive oil and like it quite a bit both ways. I probably have a slight preference for “with”, but if you’re counting calories, you can definitely leave it out.
The purple potatoes definitely look great in this salad, but you could easily use normal yellow fingerlings or even small red potatoes.

1/2 lb purslane (untrimmed weight)
1 lb fingerling potatoes, cut into 1/4″ coins
3 spring knob onions (bulbs and greens), thinly sliced
1 1/2 Tbsp capers
juice and zest of half a lemon
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp olive oil (optional)

Trim the purslane by removing any thick stalks and cutting or snapping thin stems and leaves into 1-2″ pieces. Toss purslane, onions, capers and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl.

Boil the potatoes for about 10 minutes, until tender, but still keeping their shape. Drain the potatoes. Add the potatoes, salt, lemon juice and olive oil (if using) to the purslane and toss well.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Grilled* Beets and Potatoes with Basil

Eli — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 02:45:43 +0000

This is one of those cases where the recipe didn’t go quite according to plan, but still turned out well despite that. When you’re starting out with ingredients like this, it’s no wonder the end result is good, no matter the roadblocks.

Last week’s produce box included some lovely baby purple potatoes and baby leeks. Then the produce market had golden beets, which I can never pass up. (Golden beets are wonderful – all the earthy goodness of red beets, but the color stays in the beets where it belongs. No dyed hands, counter, cutting board, bowls… And the sunny yellow of golden beets is just as striking as the burgundy of the red version.) Add to that some fresh basil from my window box, a bit of balsamic vinegar and a few glugs of olive oil and you’ve got a winner. Taste and looks all in one simple dish.

I planned to grill the beets, potatoes and leeks over indirect heat. I had some chicken thighs on the front of the grill over a normal high-ish heat and put the veggies on the back, thinking they’d cook slowly and get that great smoky charcoal flavor without all the char from high-heat grilling. That didn’t work out quite as planned. The direct heat was plenty for the chicken, but the indirect heat just wasn’t enough to cook the veggies. So after being on the grill for about 20 minutes without showing any indications of cooking at all, I took them inside cooked them on the stove top in a covered cast iron dutch oven.

Grilled* Beets and Potatoes with Basil

If you don’t have access to a grill (or if you don’t get your grill hot enough like me) these work beautifully cooked in a covered cast iron pan over medium heat on the stovetop.

Be sure to toss the dressing over the vegetables as soon as they’re off the heat so they soak up the flavor.

1 1/2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp brown mustard
1/4 cup chopped basil
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb smallish golden beets, peeled and sliced
1 lb baby purple potatoes, washed and sliced
3 baby leeks (white and light green parts only), sliced (about 1/4 lb)

Mix together the balsamic vinegar, mustard and basil in a small bowl. Set aside.

Toss the potatoes, beets and leeks with the olive oil and a bit of salt and grill, turning or stirring occasionally until cooked through and browned, but not too charred.

When the vegetables are cooked, remove from the grill and immediately toss with the vinegar mixture. Serve.

Eli Cooks » potatoes

Purslane and Potato Salad

Grilled* Beets and Potatoes with Basil