Sparkle Kitchen: Purslane Pesto
In this week’s At Home with Martin and Sylvia story "House in the Brush", Momma and Daddy decide to turn part of their overgrown side yard into a flower meadow. They enlist Martin and Sylvia’s help in clearing out all the weeds, saplings, and thicket.
Chances are that, if the family had looked closely, they might have found some purslane in all of those weeds.
Purslane is a low-growing, sprawling plant with succulent-like, deep green leaves. While it’s commonly thought of as a weed, it’s actually quite edible. Its slightly lemon-y flavor is delicious when mixed in salads or pesto. Further, purslane is a nutritional powerhouse. It’s chock-full of vitamin E and contains more omega-3 fatty acids than any other plant.
Purslane is also easy to identify, and grows throughout most of the world. Its only look alike is a plant called spurge — which is poisonous — but there’s a quick way to tell the difference. If you think you’ve found purslane, break one of the stems. Spurge has a milky white sap, while purslane will have only a little clear moisture.
Once you’ve found a patch of purslane, here’s a yummy pesto recipe to get you started on your way to eating it.
Purslane Pesto
(makes enough to lightly sauce 1 pound of pasta)
Ingredients
1 packed cup purslane leaves (if you don’t have enough purslane, top off the cup with basil)
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup shelled pistachios
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
¼ – ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Directions
In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the pistachios to small crumbles. Add the purslane, garlic, and salt, and continue to whiz until they’re well incorporated. Now add the cheese, and give the pesto just a few more pulses.
Lastly, with the machine running, open the top spout of the food processor and slowly drizzle in the olive oil. The amount I use is always a little different, but there will be a moment when the sauce suddenly comes together—that’s when it’s time to stop. (I’m convinced it depends on the phases of the moon. Or perhaps, more realistically, the amount of moisture in the purslane leaves.)
Spoon out your pesto over warm pasta or serve it with crackers and veggies.
If you liked this recipe, here are others you might enjoy:
Not yet a subscriber? Try a free trial HERE.
About the Author
Meryl Carver-Allmond
The Sparkle Kitchen Series is created by Meryl Carver-Allmond.
Meryl lives in a hundred-year-old house near the prairie with her sweet husband, two preschoolers, one puppy, one gecko, and about ten chickens. While she's been writing since she could pick up a pen, in recent years she's discovered the joy of photography, too. She feels lucky to be able to combine those skills, along with a third passion — showing people that cooking for themselves can be healthy and fun — in her Sparkle Kitchen posts.
