Week 8: An Unexpected Salad

I know I said salad season was over. 

And it is if you think of salads as requiring lettuce, but we still have a few luscious leafy things to harvest this season.

Like Frisee

And Purslane

And these leafy things make a delectable summer salad.

Before I get too far into this week's share description, I should mention that the share includes plenty of non-salad items too. Along with the frisee and purslane, this week's share will include: Snow Peas, Basil, Kale, Cabbage, Tomatoes, and Peppers OR Eggplant.

But back to the frisee and purslane.

Frisee should be familiar to members by now. We have grown it for several years and it was in the shares last week. It's an endive, a bitter green, which makes many folks apprehensive, but it needn't be a source of stress. Bitter flavors can be overpowering, but they can also be delicious when paired with equally assertive sour, sweet, salty, and/or creamy flavors, as in this week's salad recipe.

Purslane is a newcomer to the shares, at least this cultivated variety is. Nevertheless, some of you may recognize it as a garden weed. It is a common weed, originally introduced to North America as a vegetable that escaped cultivation. It has a mucilaginous texture (think okra), a mild flavor, and high level of omega-3s. The entire plant, stem and all, is eaten raw or cooked. It's also featured in this week's recipe.

Frisee Salad with Purslane and Nectarine

• 1 Head Frisee Endive, chopped roughly
• 1 Handful Purslane, chopped roughly
• 2 Nectarines, 1.5 chopped into bite sized pieces, remaining half reserved
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/2 cup Sour Cream
• 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
• 1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt

Toss together the chopped frisee, purslane, chopped nectarine, and grated Parmesan cheese.

Prepare dressing by pureeing the reserved nectarine half, sour cream, lemon juice, maple syrup and salt together.

A very grown up Fruit Salad