it’s summer, you eat … WHAT???!!!
Purslane: I call it a nutritious easy to grow crunchy little green (now officially renamed par moi a “super gourmet green” !). Add it to green salads, or - my favorite - to potato salad. Other people like it too: El - of course! (go to this post for a picture … if you need one) - and Chelsea whose post of Warm Potato & Purslane Salad inspired me to try purslane with potato salad. Nonetheless, he calls it a weed. He eats it, though - gingerly. Me? I am going to pickle it, having found a recipe in one of my French cookbooks.
Radish seed pods: I call them tasty little bits, great for salads and stir-fries. He just shrug them off and eats around them. But then he has no particular fondness for radishes, any of it (except the quick pickled ones). Make sure to pick only young and immature pods: they toughen as the seeds mature. There is actually a radish bred for its pods, with the evocative name of Rat’s Tail Radish or sometimes - less poetically - podding radish. I use my standard French breakfast style radish and let them go to seeds. Flowers are pretty, attract pollinators and beneficial insects … and are edible too.
We both agree though that green coriander seed is a short live treasure. Short lived in the garden, as you need to pick the young green immature seeds before they start to mature, and once picked must eat them within a few hours, before they start to dry. The taste is something between cilantro and coriander - which is no surprise since it is both - but without the toughness of the mature coriander shell. The younger the seed (smaller and more vibrant green, with no tinge of yellow), the brighter the taste. I use them in rillettes (just cooked for a few minutes), add to sautéed pork chops or chicken, salsa etc - again adding them just for the last couple of minutes of cooking. I like them so much that I am collecting some and freezing them for future use. The ones I don’t harvest green will become coriander: some will end up in the pantry, others will reseed themselves for a fall crop.
I laughed when I saw this. A friend got cultivated (I think) purslane from her CSA last week and asked me what to do with it. I didn’t have a clue, but I’ll pass this post on to her!
Wicked! I have been eating purslane for weeks–I have seen some around here in DC, and I have been sorely tempted to grab some, but you never know what’s been sprayed on them.
Purslane is excellent in sandwich wraps, too.
If only my radishes or cilantro would cooperate, I could try the seeds/pods… I will keep this in mind–I have been finding so many more things that are edible since gardening. Young bean leaves (like, kidney, etc) are excellent in a salad too!
I had to laugh too: both my daikon radish and my cilantro is seeding now and I spent a big part of today nibbling off of both! I had tried the radish seed pods earlier in the week, remembering that rat-tailed radishes are a good thing to grow if you have a lot of wire worms, or anything that tunnel through your root crops: what the heck, I will eat these pods, and they were lovely! And I was harvesting the coriander seed for saving for some dishes later.
My family is like your hubby: not too keen on either coriander or radish pods.
But the purslane! Our daughter is a fool for it. I might just have to hit you up for your pickle recipe, just to extend the harvest.
And you said “rillettes” again, yum…
Sylvie, your posts are always a revelation. Who knew there was a radish to grow for the pods? And green cilantro seeds? First I’d heard of it, but definitely something to try. And just when I thought there would be some idle time around the garden this year….
He? He eats what’s put in front of him. But if it grows in the path where I need to walk, its fair game for the WEED wacker.
hé hé
bonne idée la congélation de la coriandre verte
ça vaut la peine de te lire
I haven’t ever tried cilantro/coriander for some reason. You have inspired me! Thank you!
[...] thinly sliced red onion (garden - yeah - onions from the garden. It’s a big deal for me), and green coriander seeds (need to enjoy them while they last), all tossed with balsamic vinegar and olive [...]
Janet & El: I do get snorts, when I mention eating purslane. But then when I say I get $12 a pound for it in my gourmet mesclun blend that I provide for my clients, the snorts turn downright incredulous…
Kenneth, thanks for stopping by. Whoa! good luck for your growing. Looks quite challenging to me. I bet purslane might grow more easily for you, even in a container, than some of the more standard veggies… just a thought…
Ed- Idle time in the garden??? ahahahahah… you are SO funny
He? - I love you!
jp - le plaisir est pour moi
Jennifer - give it a try. I have read that in both China and Mexico, the roots are eaten. I’d love to put my hand of the cultivar of cilantro that puts roots big enough to eat. Then I could eat the whole plant: roots, leaves, flowers and seeds!
I saw some gorgeous purslane at the dupont circle farmers market today….now youre making me regret not buying it! I did not know there was a radish bred just for its pod..I always learn something when I come here!
My cilantro / coriander went to seed a bit rapidly (first attempt at growing). I’ve just spent the evening harvesting my seed (if you’ll pardon the expression), and I noticed a lot that were still green.
Not knowing if this was good to eat, I did a quick search and found this site - result is: I’ve just made one of my home made curries using the green seed and it has turned out with such a good flavour that I am typing this while still eating, Thanks for the info - I shall be using this again in future. (Apologies for the messy keyboard)
Mick - glad I was able to help! plant coriander often, as indeed it goes to seed fast.
Come back to visit.
[...] few green coriander seeds (optional, but they add a nice [...]