Purslane Arugula Pesto

This week's farm box brought us a big bag of something called "Postelein" in Germany. Much google sleuthing revealed this mystery green to be Purslane--a super healthy herb cultivated in Europe and Mexico . . . and sprayed with weed killer in yards throughout the U.S. Purslane is known as a "forgotten" vegetable. Due to its short shelf life (it wilts 3-5 days after harvesting), you can only find purslane at farmers markets, in CSA farm boxes, or growing in your yard. A nutritional powerhouse, the green is rich in omega-3s (it contains the highest amount found in any green vegetable), vitamins C and A, and iron.

Purslane is slightly succulent, so it's crunchy and has a savory, slightly nutty taste. Or, as LCBF notes, "it tastes like greens." It's true. It does. For my first experiment with purslane, I opted to mix it with some peppery arugula and make a light pesto. Recipe after the jump:

Purslane Arugula Pesto
1/2 bunch purslane
1/2 bunch arugula
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 c. walnuts
salt
optional: 1/4 c. parmesan

Rinse purslane and arugula. No need to dry. Place greens and walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine.

With processor running, slowly add olive oil until the mixture reaches desired consistency. Salt to taste. Since purslane is succulent, this pesto doesn't require copious amounts of oil or added pasta water to thin it out (though you can add some if you want a more sauce-like pesto).

Toss with pasta and mix in parmesan, if desired.