Summer Vegetable Soup with Purslane
I admit, until this week I’d never tried purslane. In fact, I’m not sure I’d ever even noticed it at the market tables. However a couple of weeks ago, at the Ready. Set. Cook! event at the University District Farmers Market, both chefs used purslane in their dishes. So when we saw it was an option for our Growing Washington Local Choice Food Box, we ordered a bunch.
Purslane has long been considered a weed, but you can eat it just like you eat a leafy vegetable. The flavor is sweet, salty, and sour all at the same time. I think it tastes like a succulent bit of romaine lettuce. Purslane has more Omega-3 fatty acids than any other leafy green. It is also high in Vitamins A, C, and B (beta-carotine). There are a variety of things you can do with purslane. Chop it up and throw it in salads, add it to soup, or make a pesto out of it. For this today’s recipe, we made a minestrone type soup and add a bunch of chopped purslane to the pot right before serving.Summer Vegetable Soup with Purslane
- 2 small onions, diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- Olive oil
- 3-4 cups of pinto beans, cooked
- 3-4 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
- 2 cups of water
- 2 large tomatoes, diced
- 3 large tomatillos, diced
- 1 sweet pepper, diced
- 1 hot pepper, minced
- 1 Japanese eggplant, diced
- 3 carrots, diced (optional)
- 1 bunch purslane, leaves separated
- Parmesan cheese for garnish
- Sea salt and pepper
- In a skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil and cook the onions and garlic until caramelized, stirring often.
- In a large soup pot, add the chicken broth and the water and heat over medium heat.
- Add the onions and garlic to the soup pot along with a little salt and pepper. If you’re using commercial chicken or vegetable stock, you can probably omit the salt.
- Return to the skillet and add a bit more olive oil. Over medium heat, cook the tomatoes, tomatillos, carrots, peppers, and eggplant until the eggplant is about half cooked and the tomatoes have started to release their water. Transfer to the soup pot.
- Add the cooked beans to the soup pot and cook for between 10 and 20 minutes.
- Add the purslane at the last minute and turn off the heat.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste and top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Our notes: I’ve always been a big fan of minestrone soup. It is comforting , easy to make, and pretty hard to screw up. You throw vegetables in a pot with broth and you’re good. So this soup was perfect for one of those nights when it is still summer, but there is a hint of fall in the air. Make sure you cook the beans ahead of time in separate water. Otherwise your beans will make the soup water kind of scummy. If that does happen, just use a slotted spoon to skim off the scum. Also, once you add tomatoes and tomatillos to beans, the acid in the tomatoes and tomatillos will stop the cooking process for the beans. So beware of that. I love my vegetable soup a bit spicy, but feel free to leave out the hot pepper for a milder dish. Other spices would work well in this soup as well, such as rosemary, oregano, and basil.
