Purslane, called verdolagas in Spanish, is a summer growing plant that has been used for regional dishes since before the written history of our area.  This is a dish that uses the bounty of the season.

Above cover image: purslane in flower courtesy L Rignanese.

Using Purslane / Verdolagas

Just what is verdolagas or purslane? There are a number of species you can use as shown in our post Forage Purslane.

Along with this recipe, you could make some Verdolagas Corn Bread. It’s a dish we had once in Mexico, and then recreated for our readers.

Today’s Sweet and Sour Purslane is a side dish we created – quite frankly – by messing around in the kitchen working with flavors that we thought would go well.  They did.  Then we had to recreate it and write it down with actual measurements so we could share it with you.

Jacqueline has a video on our YouTube channel about the best tool to use in the kitchen – your brain!

This recipe uses Apple Scrap Vinegar – we make often, but if you have red wine vinegar or something similar it works well too.  Our kitchen has a bottle of oil, jar of honey, and a bottle of apple scrap vinegar sitting right on the counter, ready for use. Meanwhile, the salt and sugar live in the cupboard, so they are used less.

Sweet & Sour Purslane

Ingredients

  4 strips of bacon
  1 cup diced onions and or scallions
  1/2 cup water from steaming the purslane
  1/4 cup apple vinegar 
  1 tablespoon honey
  1/2 teaspoon salt
  4 cups steamed or boiled then chopped verdolagas
  1 tablespoon flour or starch (arrowroot works well) to thicken the mix

Step one. Prepare the verdolagas.

Chop off the thick lower stems and toss the leaves and young stems in a pot. Steam or boil them lightly, roughly 5 minutes, depending on the species you are using and how mature the leaves are. They don’t have to be fully cooked, they will get further cooked later.

Once the purslane is “relaxed,” drain well. Do this by pouring your steamed purslane into a colander that is sitting in a bowl. This will capture the liquid which you will use later.

In cookbooks this is called: “reserve the cooking water for this recipe.” So I guess we just said it too.  Note, that if there is more liquid than needed, don’t pour it down the drain! Save it for soup stocks.

Once drained, chop up the purslane small enough that no one gets a long stringy bit when they eat the dish.  You might not have to do this step if you foraged a small-leaf species.

How to save stock. 
Save it in the freezer. Cleaned out quart container from yogurt will do. Just add it even if it's only a little bit. Our containers have layers from all the various steamed vegetables made over the weeks.

Step two. Make the bacon and onion.

This is best done in a nice large cast iron pan. You will later use this same pan,

Cook the bacon well enough that it will crumble. Set aside on paper towel to drain.

Cook the onion in the bacon grease. Once cooked remove from the pan and add it to the purslane.

Step Three. Make the sauce.

Using the pan where you just cooked the bacon and onions, you will make the sauce. It’s technically called “deglazing the pan” and it’s also called “making a roux” (pronounced roo). You could also call it making a kind of gravy. I call it “cleaning the pan so I don’t have to wash it.”

In the still warm pan over a low heat add a little of the liquid from the greens. With a fork or whisk add in the flour or cornstarch. Whisk it well to avoid lumps. Once it is blended and not lumpy, then add the rest of the liquid, the vinegar, the honey, and the optional salt and pepper. Continue to whisk as the mixture thickens.

Step Four. Combine

Once the sauce is thick add in the portulaca greens (and cooked onions you dumped on top of them) and stir well to coat.

Place in a serving dish and crumble the bacon on top.  I’d post a picture of it but we were really hungry, and we devoured it all!

Enjoy!

More Ways to Cook With Honey

May we suggest our dandy little cookbook?

Using Honey in New and Savory Ways offers 36 pages of tips for using honey in your cooking, as well as in all manner of dishes. 

We hope you will help support some local Southwest folks!
From the review:
“Honey is for more than desserts and this book can help! Using honey in cooking savory dishes helps engage all your taste buds and adds a layer of added flavor to everyday dishes – plus holiday fare.”

Beekeeper? We offer volume discounts – because if you sell honey in local markets you might want to offer some recipe book as well. Use the Special Orders tab.

Check? Sure we take those too – just use the Special Orders tab.

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Disclaimer

The authors of this website have researched the edibility of the materials we discuss, however, humans vary in their ability to tolerate different foods, drinks, and herbs. Individuals consuming flowers, plants, animals or derivatives mentioned in this blog do so entirely at their own risk. The authors on this site cannot be held responsible for any adverse reaction. In case of doubt please consult your medical practitioner.