Weeds and watermelon

Summer Watermelon Salad

Photos and text by KARA DiCAMILLO/ecoRI.org News contributor

My CSA share with Simmons Organic Farm certainly keeps me on my toes. This week, I picked up something called purslane, a plant that looked like perhaps an herb of some sort. But when I started to do some research, I realized that it looked very familiar.

Purslane is actually a weed, and one that I’ve pulled from my gardens many times. It can be found growing in flower and vegetable beds, and basically in any unshaded area. The leaves look succulent and form a rosette shape.

While it’s believed to be native to Iran or India, apparently purslane has been a medicinal plant for hundreds of years in Latin America, mostly because it contains more Omega-3 fatty acids than any other leafy vegetable plant. Native Americans also used it for burns, earaches, stomachaches and headaches.

Purslane is considered a vegetable green and is used in many Latin American countries, France and other European countries. It is popular as a salad green because of its similarity to watercress in taste and consistency. I was surprised that purslane doesn’t have any sort of bitter taste at all, and actually really enjoyed it fresh.

I was reading about different ways to use purslane and found that the Greeks like to fry it and eat it with fresh tomatoes and feta cheese. Though that sounded delicious, I thought I’d mix it up a bit by using sweet watermelon, which complemented the saltiness of the feta cheese and olives nicely.

Summer Watermelon Salad
Makes 4 appetizers

Half cup of canola oil
Quarter cup of purslane leaves (de-stemmed)
Salt
Freshly cracked pepper
Half a watermelon, cubed
Quarter cup of olives (black or Kalamata), halved
Quarter cup of feta cheese, crumbled
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar

Heat the canola oil in a shallow pan over medium heat and add the purslane leaves — be sure to wear an apron and step back because it splatters. Once the leaves are crisp, about a minute, remove from the heat and place on a paper towel. Sprinkle with a dash of salt and pepper.