Berros y Verdolagas: Watercress and Purslane Salad

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large wide salad bowl, preferably clay or wood
• •Salad spinner
• •Sharp paring knife for radishes and onion
• •Microplane or fine grater for the garlic
• •Small whisk for the vinaigrette

Instructions

1. 1

   Wash the quelites properly

   Fill a large bowl with cold water. Submerge the watercress and the purslane in separate batches. Swish them around with your hand and let the grit settle to the bottom. Lift the leaves out by hand, do not pour. Repeat with fresh cold water until no sand sits at the bottom of the bowl. Verdolagas grow low to the ground in the milpa and they carry their dirt with them. Skip this step and you will eat the soil from the field.

   Pinch the verdolagas stems near the leaves. The tender stems snap clean. The woody ones bend. Use the tender, throw the woody on the compost.
2. 2

   Dry the greens completely

   Spin the washed watercress and purslane in a salad spinner in batches, or lay them on clean kitchen towels and pat dry. Water on the leaves dilutes the vinaigrette and the salad goes flat in minutes. A dry leaf takes the dressing. A wet leaf rejects it. Así se hace y punto.

3. 3

   Soak the red onion

   Place the sliced red onion in a small bowl of cold water with a pinch of salt for ten minutes. This pulls out the harsh bite and leaves the onion crisp and sweet. Drain and pat dry before using. In the mercados of Puebla the señoras do this without thinking. It is the difference between an onion that fights the salad and one that joins it.

4. 4

   Build the mustard vinaigrette

   In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, grated garlic, salt, and black pepper. Whisk until the mustard dissolves and the mixture looks cloudy and uniform. Slowly stream in the olive oil while whisking constantly. The vinaigrette will emulsify and thicken slightly. Crumble the Mexican oregano between your palms over the bowl, the heat of your hands wakes up the oils, and whisk it in. Taste. It should be sharp, mustardy, and bright. If it tastes timid, add more salt.

   Mexican oregano is not Mediterranean oregano. They are different plants and they taste nothing alike. Mexican oregano is citrusy and grassy. Use the right one or leave it out.
5. 5

   Combine the greens

   In a large wide bowl, combine the romaine, watercress, and purslane. Use your hands, not tongs. Tongs bruise the leaves and break the verdolagas at the stem. Hands respect them. Scatter the drained red onion and the sliced radishes across the top.

6. 6

   Dress and serve at the table

   Whisk the vinaigrette one more time and pour about two-thirds of it over the greens. Toss gently with your hands, lifting from the bottom of the bowl to coat every leaf. Add the cubed queso panela and the serrano rings and toss once more, lightly. Taste a leaf. If it needs more dressing, add the rest. Scatter the toasted pepitas across the top. Serve immediately, while the leaves still stand up. A dressed salad does not wait. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •Buy your verdolagas at a Mexican mercado or a Latin grocery if you can. The bunches sold there are picked tender and the stems are still soft. Supermarket purslane is sometimes coarse and overgrown, almost woody. If that is what you have, use only the smallest leaves at the tips.
• •Berros bruise easily. Buy them the day you make the salad. If you have to store them overnight, wrap the stems in a damp paper towel and stand them upright in a glass of cold water in the refrigerator, like cut flowers.
• •Queso panela holds its cube shape and does not melt. Queso fresco crumbles. Both work. Avoid feta, which is too salty and changes the balance, and never use mozzarella, which has no business in this bowl.
• •If your market does not have verdolagas at all, do not substitute spinach. Spinach is not a quelite and the salad becomes something else. Use only berros and romaine and call it a berros salad. A substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade.

Advance Preparation

• •The vinaigrette can be made up to three days ahead and refrigerated. Bring it to room temperature and whisk hard before using, the olive oil solidifies in the cold.
• •The greens can be washed, dried, and refrigerated wrapped in clean kitchen towels up to one day ahead.
• •Slice the radishes and soak the onion no more than two hours before serving. The salad itself is assembled and dressed at the moment you sit down to eat. A dressed quelites salad does not survive longer than thirty minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 217g)