Purslane has a quality described by Lee Allen Peterson in the Peterson field guide to Edible Wild Plants as "mucilaginous" when raw, although in my experience, to describe it in this way can cause a tentative taster to form a preconceived ill opinion of the plant. Henceforth, therefore, I will attempt to refrain from using this term no matter how fun the word "mucilaginous" is to say. Purslane has a lemony and pleasant taste. Cooked down, it seemed to lose some of that mucilaginous quality. (Oops there I go again).
I steamed/fried the purslane in a frying pan with a little olive oil, water, and soy sauce and served it as a side dish with fried clams and steamed mussels. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Gregg, even with his aversion to slimy things, actually liked the fried purslane very much. "It almost tastes like mushrooms," he said. My mother liked it too--enough to take a second helping and suggest we try adding the leftovers to scrambled eggs. Of all people, I did not expect mom to take a second serving of a wild edible plant! Dad, on the other hand, remains suspicious and only tried a tiny bit of purslane, again giving me that "you're crazy" look while doing so.
Have I mentioned how much I love finding a good use for unwanted things, like weeds? It's like recycling, but with an element of adventure!
Let me take this opportunity to extend an open invitation to my friends who have gardens, then. If you have unwanted purslane growing among your vegetables, I'd be more than happy to come over and weed it on out of there!
In the meantime, I took the extra seeds and plant pieces that we did not use and spread them on the hillside that drops down from my parents' back yard. Here's hoping that some purslane pops up.
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