Common weed also nutritious veggie

Cooks looking for a versatile and flavorful source of nutrition might be surprised to find it growing along the road in Yuma County.

Verdolagas grow in little green clumps along roadsides and fields, as well as lawns and gardens in Yuma and other areas.

Verdolagas is the Spanish word for purslane, which is commonly cooked like any other green by Hispanic people throughout the Southwest. Verdolagas are often added to a pot of pork and green chile stew to thicken the stew just before serving.

Other times the greens are boiled, steamed or sautéed separately and served with a main dish, such as arroz con pollo (chicken with Spanish rice). They are also used in fresh salads or like an herb to flavor soups.

Verdolagas are slightly acidic. The flavor has been compared to spinach or watercress. The leaves are tender and the stems are crunchy. They taste like greens with a sort of lemony flavor, said Karen Reichhardt, botanist for the Bureau of Land Management.

As a girl growing up in Colorado, Reichhardt first tasted verdolagas when the Hispanic people who owned a tortilla factory next to her father’s stained glass studio noticed them growing in his garden behind the studio.

“'They’re called verdolagas, and we eat them,'” they told her father. They invited her family over to dinner, where they boiled the verdolagas and served them as a side dish.

Since then, Reichhardt has purchased them from stores such as Food City and cooked them herself, she said.

Like many other greens, verdolagas are nutritious. “One cup of raw common purslane is only 7 calories, yet it provides 15 percent of the daily requirement of Vitamin C,” according to the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. “Crude protein is reported to be about 20 percent. Furthermore, the plant is one of the highest non-animal sources of omega-3 fatty acids, which have been shown to reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease.”

There are two types of edible purslane, and they are known by many names, Reichhardt said. Trianthema portulacastrum, also known as horse purslane, pigweed and other names, is the larger of the two types. It has larger leaves, small pink flowers and reddish stems. Found in tropical and subtropical climates, it flowers from May to November.

Portulaca oleracea or common purslane is sometimes called little hogweed or verdolaga. It has smaller, more succulent leaves and yellow flowers, and is sometimes sold in farmers markets and the produce section of food stores. It flowers from April to June and again from August to November.

The latter type is the one harvested locally and used for the photos that accompany this article.

Anyone interested in harvesting their own verdolagas for consumption should be very careful. It’s wise to go with someone who can properly identify the plant, as consuming the wrong plant could be harmful.

Common courtesy is also advised, especially when gathering verdolagas from someplace other than one’s own property. Always ask for permission before picking.

Reichhardt recommends picking verdolagas from areas that have not been treated with herbicides or pesticides. She also cautions against getting them from roadsides, where rainwater may have washed oils and other harmful substances off the road onto the plants.

Always check verdolagas for insects and rinse them very well several times before preparing them.

To steam them, simply remove them from final rinse water, place in a pan with a lid and cook over low heat until tender (about four or five minutes).