Pickled Purslane
Making pickled purslane is a way to go if you want to preserve some of this delicious and healthy wild plant, and enjoy it even when it’s not in season.
Check out this article about purslane to learn all you need to know about this fantastic wild edible plant, how to pick it and use it in the kitchen.
Today, I will share two simple recipes for pickled purslane: one includes apple cider vinegar and a super quick pickling process, while the other one is great for all fermentation enthusiasts who like raw, probiotic pickles and have some extra kombucha or water kefir sitting around
Ingredients for pickled purslane
To make these simple and delicious purslane pickles, you will need the following ingredients:
- Fresh purslane
- Apple cider vinegar or over-fermented kombucha or water kefir (I will explain both methods)
- Honey or raw cane sugar
- Water
- Sea salt or Himalayan salt
Harvesting purslane in nature
Purslane is a wild plant that grows abundantly during the summer season. You can find it on roadsides, lawns, near forests, or as a weed in gardens. It is easy to recognise by its chunky succulent stem and oval, alternate succulent leaves.
To find out more about recognising and harvesting purslane, check out this article:
What Is Purslane And How To Use It
Pickled purslane health benefits
Purslane is known for its high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, as well as being a rich source of minerals such as potassium, calcium and magnesium.
Making this pickled purslane with my second method – in a probiotic liquid will add even more health benefits to it. These pickles will be packed with probiotic microorganisms that are great for digestive and overall health.
Making pickled purslane
Recipe 1: Hot vinegar and water solution
With this recipe, your tasty purslane pickles will be ready in no time.
Cut purslane into smaller chunks and fill a glass jar with them. Then boil water and vinegar, turn off the heat, mix in a tablespoon of honey or raw cane sugar and some salt, and pour over purslane.
Very soon after pouring the hot mixture over the purslane leaves and stems, they will change colour. Then leave them at room temperature until they cool down or until the next day and put them in the fridge. At this point, you can already eat the pickled purslane.
Recipe 2: Purslane pickled in kombucha or water kefir
This is one of my favourite ways of pickling vegetables. I often end up with some extra kombucha or water kefir that just continues fermenting on the shelf. It becomes too sour to drink, so I like to use it to make pickles.
This fermented liquid is still milder than vinegar, so I don’t mix it with water to make pickles. I just add s pinch of Himalayan salt and sometimes some herbs and spices (such as oregano, black pepper, dill or bay leaves) to it and pour it over fresh vegetables – in this case, purslane.
Water kefir pickles will be a bit milder than kombucha pickles because water kefir has a milder taste, but all in all these are pretty similar and you can choose whichever you prefer or have at home at the moment.
Right: Purslane pickled in over-fermented kombucha. There are some bubbles that indicate the presence of living microorganisms. Even though this kombucha tasted really sour, there was still some leftover sugar that kept the fermentation going.
Storing the pickled purslane
Whichever of these two pickling methods you choose, the pickled purslane will last very long if you store it in the fridge. As long as it smells and tastes nice (sour and vinegary like any pickles), it is good for eating.
Dishes to combine with pickled purslane
- Have some pickled purslane in a sandwich made from this oat and spelt soda bread and this delicious parsley and chives pesto;
- A slice of this homemade pumpkin and cornmeal bread goes great with this mushroom and walnut pate and some pickled purslane;
- These super tasty gluten-free flaxseed wraps filled with some homemade dip, vegetables and pickled purslane are a must-try!
- Add pickled purslane to your favourite salad. If you haven’t already, I suggest trying this super rich and tasty curly kale salad with creamy homemade dressing and adding some pickled purslane to it for a nice dose of sour.
- Have pickled purslane as one of the fillings for these mushroom bao buns. So delicious!
- Make this purslane salad with pickled purslane instead of fresh.
Pickled Purslane
Learn how to make easy pickled purslane in two ways! Making pickled purslane is a way to go if you want to preserve some of this delicious and healthy wild plant, and enjoy it even when it’s not in season.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups fresh purslane (cut into smaller chunks)
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar + ½ cup water OR 1 cup over-fermented kombucha or water kefir
- 1 tbsp honey or raw cane sugar (only if you are using vinegar and water mixture, not kombucha)
- ½ tsp Himalayan salt
Instructions
- Cut the purslane into smaller chunks and put them into a jar.
- If you are using kombucha or kefir, add a pinch of Himalayan salt to a cup of fully fermented liquid and pour it over the fresh purslane. If you are using vinegar, proceed with the step 3.
- Mix water and apple cider vinegar in a small pot and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Turn the heat off and add salt and honey or raw cane sugar. Stir to dissolve.
- Pour the hot mixture over the purslane chunks.
- Whether you used raw kombucha or cooked vinegar mixture, leave about a centimetre of empty space above the liquid level and close the jar.
- The vinegar pickles will be ready in a few hours or by tomorrow, and for the kombucha pickles, you will most likely need to wait around three days. When all the purslane leaves and stems have changed their colour from bright green to a duller green and taste sour - they are ready to eat.
- Add your homemade purslane pickles to any of your favourite dishes (find some suggestions in the article above), or enjoy them alone as a healthy snack.
Notes
- In both cases, you can check if the pickles are ready by their colour - they will no longer look fresh and will get a more dull shade of green.
- In case there is any unfermented sugar left, kombucha or kefir pickles can be a bit bubbly when you open them. For that reason, I skip adding any honey or raw cane sugar to the raw fermented pickles. It is not a mistake to do it, but in case you do, don’t close the jar fully and be prepared for a bubbly explosion. Anyway, the fermentation microorganisms will eat that sugar, so you won’t be left with much sweetness (that’s why there is not much point in adding the sugar).
