Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Anatolian Purslane, Lamb and Lentil Stew

Some Americans call it a weed, but in Turkey, purslane is a prize. My friend Ayfer Unsal, a feisty political journalist and passionate culinary sleuth, was beside herself. It was getting late in the day and we still hadn't found any decent purslane at her farmers' market in Gaziantep, in Southeast Anatolia, Turkey. She was about to give up when suddenly she spotted an old woman wheeling away a baby carriage filled with greens. "Quick! We must stop her!" Ayfer exclaimed. "She always has terrific herbs!" I followed as Ayfer dashed off, pushing her way through the crowd. When I caught up, she was in the process of buying a bundle of beautiful jade-colored, oval-leaved greens with purple stems. My friend was happy: she'd found the most important ingredient for a summer lamb and lentil stew called pirpirim asi--a beloved local specialty that's earthy and robust yet light and nourishing.

In America, grandmothers spoil their grandchildren with sweets; in Gaziantep, grandmothers use pirpirim asi. The story goes that Turkish cops will stop writing traffic tickets if the violator promises to bring them a freshly cooked pot. Purslane is the key to the stew's special flavor. Americans often refer to purslane as "that nuisance weed," the one that crops up in gardens, window boxes, sometimes even in the middle of gravel driveways. But to knowledgeable cooks, it is no nuisance! With its mild lemony taste and plump texture, it is a wonderful-tasting fresh green, of which there are precious few in late summer. If you don't have a garden and don't know where or how to forage for purslane, ask an organic grower at your local farmers' market to pick some for you. Perhaps you could even tempt the grower with a pot of stew.

Ayfer uses purslane in many different dishes, two of which I offer here. When tender and young, this green is delightful served raw in salads with tomatoes and cucumbers. When it's mature, the larger leaves and tender stems can be blanched and added to meat or vegetable dishes, making them light and delicious. Purslane is nutritious, too--it's a good source of antioxidants and has more heart-healthful omega-3 fatty acids than any other vegetable that's been studied.

In early fall, use bulky bunches of purslane for this recipe.
Serving: 4 TO 6

1/2 cup dried black-eyed peas, soaked overnight and drained

1/3 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and drained

1/4 cup mini brown lentils, picked over and rinsed (See box)

1/4 cup olive oil

5 ounces boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 1/2-inch dice

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 teaspoons tomato paste

2 teaspoons Turkish red pepper paste

1 1/2 pounds purslane, thick stems discarded and leaves coarsely shredded

1/2 cup coarse bulgur

2 tablespoons minced garlic

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Salt

1 tablespoon dried spearmint, leaves crushed to a fine powder

1/4 teaspoon Turkish red pepper flakes

Freshly ground black pepper

Trimmed scallions and lemon wedges, for serving


1. Rinse the black-eyed peas and chickpeas. Pour them into separate medium saucepans and cover with several inches of water. Cover and cook over moderate heat until tender, about 20 minutes for the black-eyed peas and 1 hour for the chickpeas. Drain the black-eyed peas and discard the liquid. Drain the chickpeas; reserve 1/3 cup of the cooking liquid.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine the lentils with 4 cups of water, cover partially and cook over moderate heat until tender, about 40 minutes. Drain; reserve 2 cups of the cooking liquid.

3. In a large, enameled cast-iron casserole, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the lamb and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the onion, cover and cook until softened but not browned, about 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste, red pepper paste and 1/2 cup of water and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook, stirring once or twice, until the mixture begins to caramelize, about 20 minutes.

4. Add the purslane, bulgur and the reserved chickpea and lentil cooking liquids to the casserole. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Add the chickpeas, black-eyed peas, lentils, garlic and enough water to barely cover. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the lemon juice and season with salt.

5. In a small skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the spearmint, Turkish red pepper flakes and 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper. When the oil begins to sizzle, give it a stir and drizzle it over the stew. Stir once and let stand for 30 minutes. Serve the stew at room temperature or let cool, then refrigerate and serve chilled the following day. Pass the scallions and lemon at the table.

Hi Steve,

Nice one. Here's one for you. I mostly just use it raw in a salad cos no nutrients destroyed with heat, but am always collecting recipes for edible weeds. Here is one that really interested me... For the Turkish red pepper paste and flakes I just add Cayenne pepper... marvellously nutritious too... also feeds the heart like nothing else.

What is Aquaponics with rabbits, earthworms and hens called?...

Because lock up is important for me I have integrated them at night. But also because of the iron benefit from the hens to the plants via the fish ............and the rabbit droppings to the earthworms... But they will spend the day in tractors scratching for grubs (hens) and nibbling my lawn short (rabbits).



A single huge growbed with one quad flout......

Flout feeds into Flow form to oxygenate the water and prevent tsunami hitting the water.
Flow form will be made of fibreglass over wire shaping so that it is light enough to remove.

Henhouse over Fish Pond is 2mx2m which will take 8 hens and 1 cockerel comfortably overnight. Each Fish Pond will have one although only drew in one........
Henhouse will have Flattened Expanded Mesh Base inserted into Angle Iron but top will be PVC and plastic or chicken mesh and removeable. Only heavy part to remove when I want to harvest the fish will be the base..... but want that strong. It will rest on 4 poles built into the walling.

Rabbits... same sort of thing.


This angle shows the Rabbit condo over the Earthworm pit more easily. There will be access to each "box" to get rabbits into tractors during the day. Just throw a plank across the earthworm pit for the other side. Will hold only female French Angoras in this "condo". When no males they are not territorial and very social creatures. One unit will have only males. Made of expanded mesh and reinforced wood. Where floors are wood I will put grass for comfort and just throw out to earthworm pit and replenish as needed. There is a ramp to the second level.

Slope of 10 degrees 31' is showing. Seem to have got that right in the design now.

Can sort of see the removeable baskets I will hang from the sides in places. Half fill with PVC waste piping for the babies to hide with water plants on top. (Really only for those babies I miss when getting them into a separate tank) Removeable so that can use the "gate" resting along the side when time to harvest the fish at a certain size. Everything will be made as light as possible and removeable for this reason. Don't want to struggle with harvesting.



Can see the ramp in the Rabbit condo more easily and the "door" at the side of the earthworm pit that opens as a table to process earthworm castings.

Slope seen again. Going to be a lot of landfill! Pity too much rock to build Fish Pond and Earthworm pit down. Will have to hire a TLB again one day. Just dig where I want a "lake" one day.

Haven't shown the sump and top tank... but still part of the design.

Have no idea how long it will take to build but who cares! Each unit will be great as it finishes.... and learn along the way. I will just keep at it a bit each day until done. Strange thing is I can go further this way than all plastic because I only buy in cement. I guess I will be pretty fit when it is done....

First stage is the sump which I will use for fish until a unit is built. Also want to play around with building a flout. Very important I get that right. Will use SLO's from Fish Pond to GB. Maybe 4. Also have overflows.

I would really appreciate anyone who can see flaws in design ..... or expect I may have trouble with something...... to point it out to me. I hope to start quite soon. Been practicing my building skills on smaller projects and getting better all the time. I have 2 friends who know about building pointing out my mistakes.... all gearing up to this project that I really have my heart set on.

Will take some Duff. Not too much to show on the AP side yet though.

The Rabbitry has been the main project so far... built close to the first AP site and next to the Fungus Compost pit... ease of cleaning.
A couple of pics of the bunny house that I have on file. Am further along now so time to take more pics. Already collecting thatching for the roof cos now is the time to harvest it. So will have it ready when I need it.
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