Recipe: Tomato and Cantaloupe Salad with Purslane
At summer’s end I find myself a bit frantic, trying to buy and cook as much produce as possible, often combining lots of things in one dish, just to get to taste them all once more. Occasionally I create an incongruous mess, but most often things come out fine. Here’s one that came out really fine.
Purslane is a summer succulent with a mild sour taste. It’s best used raw, where its juicy crunch can be appreciated (it goes limp when cooked). It’s also excellent when paired with something sweet, like the cantaloupe I’ve chosen here.
Tomato and Cantaloupe Salad with Purslane
(Serves 4 as a first course or a light lunch)
4 heirloom tomatoes (a mix of green, red, and yellow varieties, if possible), cut into wedges
Salt
½ a small cantaloupe, cut into chunks
A big handful of purslane
3 scallions, sliced, using some of the tender green part
About a dozen small basil leaves
About a dozen mint leaves
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon champagne vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
Place the tomatoes in a colander, and sprinkle lightly with salt. Let drain for about half an hour. Now put the tomatoes, cantaloupe, and purslane in a pretty salad bowl. Add the scallions, the basil, and the mint leaves. Add the olive oil, and toss gently. Season with a bit more salt and a generous amount of black pepper, and drizzle on the vinegar. Toss again. Serve right away.
Erica De Mane 
Love that: eat your weeds! Purslane, by the way, is one of the vegetable richest in vitamins & minerals. And it it lemony crunch is indeed attractive.
Erica: did you use the “run-of-the-mill” purslane or golden purslane which has bigger leaves and (generally) a paler color? it’s hard for me to tell based on the picture.
Thank you
Hey Sylvie,
Thanks for mentioning the vitamin and mineral aspects of this lovely weed, which I sloppily left out.
I have no idea if this is the ‘run of the mill’ purslane or the golden. I had no idea a golden existed. I suspect I used the usual since this is what I’ve always seen in the market and the farmer who grew it didn’t mention it as being anything unusual. But thanks for letting me know about the varieties. I’ll ask about the golden type in the future. Don’t you love this stuff?
Thanks.
Erica D