I first saw purslane in a Cypriot friend’s garden and was surprised when they later presented me with a bowl of the tangy, succulent leaves as a salad. I came across it again years later as a delicious purslane pesto in one of my favourite restaurants in Santarcangelo di Romagna, which inspired this recipe. It’s easy, delicious and really creamy, due to the succulent nature of the leaves. A few different plants go by the name purslane; the one I use for purslane pesto is Portulaca oleracea, a low growing succulent also known as summer purslane. Summer purslane is found throughout the Middle East, southern Europe and India as well as Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and North America. It’s so wide spread and easy to grow that it’s sometimes considered a weed. Winter purslane (Claytonia perfoliate) has finer stems and is native to western North America where it’s also called miner’s lettuce or Indian lettuce. I haven’t eaten it, but I have seen recipes for purslane pesto using it, so you could give it a try although it isn’t a succulent so I suspect the result won’t be as creamy. Take this simple pasta dish to the next level with a glass of Juniper Estate Cornerstone Wilyabrup Chardonnay. One of the new-style chardonnays that walk the line between lean Chablis and fuller-bodied Aussie chardy, it has great acid to cut through the richness of this creamy purslane pesto. See video below for everything you need to know about cooking pasta.
Serves 6 as a starter
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