The latest weed that’s taken a hold of my garden plot - even flourishing during an unwatered week of vacation - is purslane. I initially let it be, hoping it would make an attractive groundcover, but quickly realized my mistake as it started to spread.

Uglyagnes told me that one of her plot neighbors has been cooking purslane, so I thought I’d give it a try. I bit off a leaf and found it juicy with a mild citrus flavor - like a tame sorrel. Searching Epicurious revealed a few recipes, some of which, to my amusement, implied that purslane was something that one could only be lucky enough to find at speciality markets.

Salad with Purslane

I was most excited by the recipe for Grilled Zucchini Salad, but I modified it to include lentils and a chopped cucumber. It was the perfect way to use some of my Wickenden Street farmers’ market purchases. The result was quite delicious and a good use of “weeds”!

What are the ingredients that make you think of fall, besides the obvious squash and apples? The produce that seduced me on my last shopping trip were golden beets and pomegranates. I bought both without a recipe in mind, but when I walked into my kitchen their fate was obvious - they would make the perfect fall salad.

I roasted the beets and paired the two with cubes of piquant blue cheese and a balsamic vinaigrette. It was so delicious, it’s definitely going to become a fall tradition. The dressing was inspired by a recipe from Food & Wine. The amounts below will make salads for at least 4, if not twice that. I kept the ingredients in the fridge and mixed salads as needed.

For an unusual but delicious pairing, try the salad with Hitachino Nest “Real Ginger Brew“.

Here’s the recipe: (click link to view)

(more…)