Purslane

Portulaca oleracea · Leafy green

40 pairings

Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) is a low, sprawling succulent eaten as a leafy green for its small, plump, paddle-shaped leaves, its smooth reddish stems and its bright, lemony-sour and faintly salty-mineral bite. The crisp, juicy leaf has a cool, slightly mucilaginous flesh that thickens whatever it touches, and it is the richest leafy-green source of omega-3 fatty acids. Dismissed by gardeners across the world as a weed, it is in fact a long-cultivated vegetable — eaten raw in Levantine fattoush, Mexican verdolagas and Greek glistrida, and lightly cooked into stews and stir-fries.

Picking a good onedrag

Plump, glossy, stems that snapLimp, yellowing, slimy at the stem

Shop freshThe all-rounder: raw in salad, or a minute in a hot pan.Everyday best

LeafGreen and firm, the gloss dulling

StemsFirm, the break face only damp

The liftStands, then bows over slowly

Smell at the bunchFaintly green, clean and near-neutral

What to look for, from plump, glossy, stems that snap to limp, yellowing, slimy at the stem.

What one gives you

76%

Usable yield

760 g a kilo · tough stems and leaves off

Keeping ittap a band

A domestic fridge holds it about 3× longer than the counter.

Humidity

95-100%

Near-saturated, the standard for leaves — a lidded box or a damp cloth. This succulent resists drying far better than spinach, but cut stems still brown.

Neither maker nor victim, rare in a leaf

Unusual among greens: it makes almost none itself and low doses do nothing to it. Only a heavy dose in warm air yellowed the leaves — cold cancels even that.

Preparing