Purslane two ways

We are finally at my mum’s after almost 2 weeks of staying in Datça, which was our way of self isolation before meeting mum and dad. That was 2 weeks of eating out which made me long for being back in the kitchen and homemade food.

Todays lunch was purslane from my uncle’s garden that I cooked in two different ways.

First cooked with tomatoes and bulgur. Second raw with yogurt and pears.

Recipe for the warm dish; I sautéed a chopped onion and a chopped red pepper in 4 tablespoons of olive oil for 5 minutes and added 3 finely sliced garlic cloves and sautéed further 2 minutes. Then I added the purslane and cooked stirring occasionally until it’s wilted, about 5 minutes.

I topped the purslane with 3 chopped plum tomato, 1 teaspoon of salt and 4 tablespoons of bulgur. Closed the lid and cooked on slow for 20 minutes checking towards the end to make sure there is still enough juices in the pan.

Purslane can be replaced by spinach which I often do back at home in London.

Bulgur can also be replaced by rice or pearl barley. I really like the bite of pearl barley. I also add sliced carrots to the dish in winter.

It’s best served with plain yogurt or garlic yogurt (that is yogurt mixed with crushed garlic)

Second dish is a mezze dish we often order when eating out. It’s raw purslane in a garlic yogurt sauce which is simply 2 crushed garlic cloves mixed with yogurt. I couldn’t help but make a small plate of it when we had purslane this fresh. Mum’s yogurt was to runny so I added a bit if crushed feta to it and once everything is mixed I put all in a strainer to get rid of the runny part of yogurt.

I added a chopped pear to the mix which we thought was unusual but really tasty. I saw it on @umut.karakus stories last week. Once strained I put everything in a serving plate and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled quite a bit of sumac (good for my blood sugar which is all over the place after the last 2 weeks).

Purslane with tomatoes and bulgur

Ingredients

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

Big bunch of purslane, about 500 g

3 plum tomatoes, chopped

4 tablespoons bulgur

Method

Heat the olive oil in a pan and add onions and red peppers, cook for 5 minutes on medium heat.
Add garlic cloves to the pan and cook further 2 minutes on medium heat.
Add purslane to the pan and cook until wilted stirring occasionally for 5 minutes on medium heat.
Add chopped tomatoes, 1 teaspoon salt and bulgur, close the lid of the pan and cook on low heat for 20 minutes checking in the last 5 minutes if there is still enough juices in the pan.