I think this is purslane. I bought it pre-packaged at the supermarket and didn't bother to look up the wording on the package before throwing it out. I don't know if I've ever had purslane before. There was some radicchio mixed in, and I added some chopped tomatoes and leftover grilled zucchini. Simple oil and balsamic dressing w/ salt, pepper and oregano.
Easy recipe for the 1/2 kilo of pork cutlets I had bought: Saute chopped onion and garlic in oil, add pork to brown.
Add about 1/2 cup of red wine, 10 oz. can of chopped tomatoes (I use the stuff that comes in the cardboard package since reading about how the aluminum cans leak dangerous stuff into the tomatoes over time), enough water to just cover the pork, 2 bay leaves, lots of cumin, and slightly less dill, fennel, salt and pepper. Cook covered over medium heat for about an hour and a half.
This turned out very nicely, I was surprised at how much the sauce condensed down even with the lid on. I think this is because my stove doesn't really have a "low" setting, so it cooked at a higher temp than I would have wanted. Didn't matter though, the pork was tender and the sauce flavorful.
I've become addicted to dipping my fried potatoes into Greek yogurt seasoned with salt, pepper, dried garlic and dill, although I probably didn't need to include that since the sauce for the pork was already pretty rich. Seemed like a bit of overkill on the flavor.
Not bad overall, though!
4 comments:
Yep, that is purslane...called "glistrida" in Crete. I adore it and have it almost daily while in Crete, but I surprised it's sold commercially packaged at the supermarket. Wow, I am consistently amazed at just what one can and cannot purchase at an Inka. Glistrida grows wild almost everywhere. Kyrstan, you should be able to find it easily while on one of your walks or ask a neighbor if you can "weed" their garden for them.
Biddy - I actually picked this up at the CarreFour/Marinopoulos market on the National Road, which makes it almost even more bizarre. I probably paid way too much for it, considering that I could have, as you pointed out, probably found it growing along the roadside! My dilemma is that I'm not always *quite* sure that what I see growing wild is what I think it is, or if it just looks a lot like it (like dittany versus the fake dittany). But I hope to learn, if not this time around, then when I return next time!
Oh my goodness, just read through my comment...Please excuse all my typos , most especially the misspelling of your name.
I know what you mean, the quandary of "to pick or not to pick" and then to trust said selection enough to actually eat it. You need a friend, perhaps Koula, to walk along with you someday and point plants out. I have a very dated field guide at the Kolymbari house, but even with carrying that book along on a walk, I still don't trust that I'll pick the safe edible plant. Glistrida, that not so difficult. When you get back home, you can easily keep a pot of it going on the kitchen window sill...impossible for it not to thrive, even I can grow it.
No worries about the name spelling...truth is that the way that I spell it isn't even correct!! On my birth certificate it's "Kirstyn" but I changed it when I was 16 to Kyrstyn. Not legally, just started spelling it that way on everything:-)
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