Potato, purslane and capers salad

In the last couple of years I started using purslane. I grew up looking at them as weeds that selfishly invaded the gardens in order to take advantage of the freshness between the greens and thought that they were of no interest to human consumption. I began using them in soups - I haven't tried yet the famous purslane and cheese soup from Alentejo, but it is in my to-do list! - and only since then I started using purslane in salads. I spotted the recipe of today's salad in the Kahakai Kitchen blog.

Ingredients:
400g potatoes
1 sheaf of purslane
1 chopped onion
1 tablespoon capers

For the sauce:
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon mustard powder
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 minced garlic clove
salt and pepper to taste


1. Cut the potatoes in half and boil them in water. Once cooked, leave to cool.

2. Prepare the purslane by removing leaves and small twigs. Wash and drain.

3. In a bowl put the onion, purslane and the cooked potatoes cut as cubes.

4. For the sauce, mix all ingredients in a bowl and stir with a wire rod.

5. Pour the sauce over the salad, stir and serve.


This salad was the garnish of some grilled lamb chops.

The purslane I used was hand picked by me in my parent's garden. Nowadays, it is easy to find it in local supermarkets.

Other recipes with purslane (written in Portuguese):
- Purslane with baked beans and tomato soup;
- Purslane, egg and oregano soup;
- Zucchini with basil and purslane soup;
- Poached eggs in tomato sauce with purslane;
- Figs with Roquefort cheese and toasted pine nuts salad;
- Purslane, peach and cheese salad;
- Purslane, tomato and onion salad.

[ Originally published in Portuguese as Salada de batata com beldroegas e alcaparras ]