Verdolagas/Purslane

[shelora]

Just purchased some verdolagas (otherwise known as Purslane) at the Farmers Market this morning.

D.K. in her book, The Essential Cuisines of Mexico, has a simple stew recipe for pork and purslane, which I will make tomorrow.

Have not found any other references for it in other cookbooks and I don't seem to recall eating it Mexico.

Can anyone out there speak about verdolagas and its uses in Mexico?

Esperanza? Theobroma?

[andiesenji]

Check the recipes here

And check this site:

verdolagas/purslane

It grows like a weed in my garden. I have several neighbors who are from Mexico and they help me keep it under control by harvesting it. I chop it and stir fry it with sugar snap peas, garlic, onions and add grated cheese at the end sometimes I add a chopped tomato.

It is very good nutritionally.

[caroline]

Here I am again, harping on about books that are in Spanish and out of print anyway. But there is such terrific stuff here I'd really like people to know about it.

But in 1992, the utterly charming Edelmira Linares of the Botanic garden at the National University published a book on the wild greens (quelites) Mexico of which purslane or verdolagos is one, called Los Quelites, Un Tesoro Culinario.

She has recipes for using them in a mixed salad, a spinach and mushroom salad, in meat-potato croquettes, in a stew with green chiles and tomatillos and wild mushrooms, in another with cheese, and in horchata.

Admittedly this was an attempt to make quelites use-friendly to the well-to-do but they're recipes worth trying,

Rachel

[zora]

Well, first there's this, which just so happens to be by me:

Purslane article from Daily Gullet

And there's also this thread going:

Purslane--what to do with it?

And I just fried some up with a little garlic, and put some thick yogurt and lemon on top. As with spinach, you really don't need any water to cook it--purslane already holds so much, and takes only a couple of minutes to wilt.

[zora]

Ooh, and the NY Times food section this week mentions a yummy-sounding purslane salad with an anchovy dressing.

[Edited to add I just reread your post and realized you were aking specifically about Mexican uses. Sorry--I just see the word purslane and go all crazy. Anyway, the Mexican guys I get it from say they just saute it with a little onion and tomato. Funny--that's exactly what the Greeks say too.]

Edited July 15, 2004 by zora (log)

[Mabelline]

Very good with some other greens,pan-wilted with a good hot chile pepper with it. Taste of it really changes with chiles.

Very healthy and more a home remedy type plant, or a forage type foodstuff for natives.

[shelora]

Abrazos and besitos to you all. Great posts and I did read the egullet article. I made a stew last week with it - pork ribs, tomatillos and verdolagas. Good but not great. I think I will simplify my approach with your ideas - simply pan wilted and I will comb the NY times for that anchovy recipe - anchovies are so good.

S