Purslane for breakfast

Warning: This is an educational post!

When I woke up, I decided to cook up some eggs with chard and purslane. Then I threw in some rosemary and Italian parsley from my herb garden out back. I took one whiff of the finished product and decided I had to post. Then I took a bite and followed through.

The video above is a brief introduction to purslane, my new favorite plant. I'd forgotten about it, quite honestly, until I found it growing everywhere in my garden. I had a nagging suspicion I'd seen it (and eaten it) before, so I weeded around it and took some home for identification. Then I remembered: I once spent an afternoon replanting the little bugger all over a raised garden bed surrounding a British retiree's personal labyrinth.

Despite the memory, I'm a bit risk-averse, and found myself hesitant to munch on what I vaguely remembered as an old friend. I wanted to make sure I wasn't about to die eating a look-a-like. Luckily, purslane's evil twin is pretty easy to identify, since it oozes a toxic white goo out of its stems when broken (see video below).

 

Long story short, I had picked right. I threw some in my dinner a few days ago, and haven't looked back. I even gathered the purslane from around my garden and created an area just for it -- though I'm sure it will spread, I look forward to the takeover.

But this blog is about breakfast. So here is a traditional Mexican purslane-and-eggs recipe: Verdolago con Huevos. Enjoy!