Semizotu Salatası: Purslane and Yogurt Salad (Recipe)
Semizotu Salatası: Purslane and Yogurt Salad (Recipe)
Semizotu salatası is a Turkish salad of chopped purslane folded into garlicky strained yogurt and olive oil. A quick blanch turns the succulent leaves tender and mildly tart, and the yogurt softens their slight slipperiness. It takes about 15 minutes, serves four as a meze, and sits well beside grilled fish or meat.
Key Takeaways
- Semizotu is the Turkish name for purslane, a succulent green with thick, fleshy leaves and a mildly tart, lemony edge.
- The classic yogurt salad rests on five core ingredients: purslane, thick strained yogurt, garlic, olive oil, and salt.
- A one-minute blanch softens the leaves and tones down their natural slickness, though the salad can also be made raw.
- In the US, purslane turns up at farmers markets in summer and at Mexican grocers, where it is sold as verdolagas (the Spanish name).
- The same herb appears in zeytinyağlı (cooked in olive oil and served cold) and tomato-and-onion versions as well.
Walk through a Turkish market in late summer and you will see it piled in low, glossy heaps — reddish stems, small paddle-shaped leaves, still damp from the vendor's spray. That is semizotu, and it is one of the few greens that will happily grow out of a crack in the pavement.
In a good semizotu salatası, those leaves are chopped and folded into cold yogurt sharpened with raw garlic and loosened with olive oil. The result is cool, creamy and faintly sour, with a little crunch left in the stems.
It is also one of the easiest things you can put on a meze table.
For many Americans, purslane is the weed pulled out of the vegetable bed and tossed on the compost heap. For plenty of Turks, it is what summer tastes like.
This guide covers what purslane is, where to find it in the US, a full step-by-step recipe with variations, and how the salad compares with its yogurt-based cousins. If you want the wider story of foraged greens on the Turkish coast, start with our piece on Aegean wild herb cooking. Here, we stay with one herb and one salad.
What Is Semizotu and Why Do Turks Love It?
Semizotu is purslane (Portulaca oleracea). The name is usually read as "fat herb" — semiz means plump, ot means herb — which is a fair description of the thick, juicy leaves. Purslane grows wild across much of the world, and it has a long history on dinner tables around the eastern Mediterranean.
The flavor is green, a little sour and faintly salty, somewhere between watercress and baby spinach with a bright edge of its own. Raw, the leaves and tender stems are crisp and juicy. Cooked, they turn soft and gently slick, a texture some people compare to okra, though far milder.
Why do Turks love it? It is cheap in season, it needs almost no cooking, and it takes beautifully to yogurt, olive oil and garlic — three things every Turkish kitchen already has. Beyond the salad, cooks sauté it with onion, simmer it with rice, or stew it with meat.
On nutrition, purslane is a leafy green that is often noted for containing some plant-based omega-3 fats. Exact amounts vary, so a nutrition database is the better reference than any blog.
Where Can You Buy Purslane in the US?
Purslane is more available in the US than most people expect, but it is rarely in the main supermarket produce aisle. Look in these places:
- Farmers markets: summer and early fall are peak season, and some growers sell it by the bunch.
- Mexican grocers: ask for verdolagas. They are often sold in rubber-banded bunches near the cilantro and other herbs.
- Middle Eastern and Mediterranean markets: stock varies by season, so call ahead if you are making a special trip.
- Your own garden: purslane is a common garden weed, and seed is sold for cultivated types.
Choose bunches that look firm and bright, with no yellowing or collapsed leaves. Wrap them in a damp paper towel, refrigerate, and cook within a few days. They arrive sandy, so wash them more thoroughly than you think you need to.
If you forage rather than buy, be absolutely certain of the identification. A common garden weed called spotted spurge looks similar at a glance, and it is not food.
How Do You Make Semizotu Salatası at Home?
This serves four as a meze or side. Prep takes about 15 minutes, with 2 minutes of cooking.
What You Need
- 1 large bunch purslane, about 1 pound (450 g)
- 1 cup (240 g) thick strained yogurt, full-fat
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt, plus more for the blanching water
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) fresh lemon juice (optional)
- 1/4 cup (30 g) walnuts, roughly chopped (optional)
- Pinch of pul biber (Turkish red pepper flakes), for garnish
How to Make It
- Trim the roots and any thick, woody lower stems from the purslane. Keep the tender upper stems and the leaves; they add crunch.
- Fill a large bowl with cold water, submerge the purslane, and lift it out by the handful so the grit stays behind. Repeat until the water runs clear.
- Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the purslane and cook for 1 minute, until bright green and just tender.
- Move the purslane to a bowl of ice water for 30 seconds, then drain and squeeze out as much water as you can, a handful at a time.
- Chop the purslane into pieces about 1/2 inch (1 cm) long, then fluff it with your fingers in a mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl, grate or crush the garlic with 1/2 teaspoon salt into a paste. Stir in the yogurt, the olive oil and the lemon juice, if using, until smooth.
- Fold the purslane into the yogurt. Taste, then adjust the salt, garlic or lemon.
- Spoon the salad into a shallow dish, drizzle with olive oil, and top with the walnuts and pul biber. Serve chilled or at cool room temperature.
Variations and Troubleshooting
- Want it raw? Skip steps 3 and 4. Chop the washed, dried leaves and tender stems and fold them in. The texture is crunchier and the flavor sharper.
- Salad turned watery: the culprit is almost always wet purslane or loose yogurt. Squeeze harder next time, or drain the yogurt in a cheesecloth-lined sieve for 30 minutes first.
Stock the basics: Olive oil and good yogurt carry this salad, so buy them with care. Browse our olive oils and cooking oils and our cheese and dairy shelf to pick up what you need.
How Does Semizotu Salatası Differ from Cacık and Other Yogurt Salads?
The closest relative is cacık (a cold cucumber-and-yogurt dish, thin enough to eat with a spoon). Both rely on garlic and yogurt, but the proportions differ: cacık is loose, cooling and often thinned with water, while semizotu salatası is thick and meant to be scooped with bread. Our guide to cacık versus tzatziki explains the thin-versus-thick divide in detail.
The yogurt matters more than the herb. A thick, strained style gives the salad body and keeps the purslane from swimming; our Turkish yogurt and ayran guide covers the styles worth knowing. Plain full-fat Greek yogurt works well here too.
What Are the Other Ways to Serve Purslane?
Yogurt is only one route. The other classic is the olive-oil treatment, where purslane is cooked slowly with onion, sometimes tomato and rice, then chilled and served as a cold plate. If that style appeals, our guide to olive-oil vegetable dishes explains the whole family.
A third option skips the yogurt entirely: raw purslane tossed with ripe tomato, red onion, olive oil and lemon or vinegar. It is closer to a summer garden salad, and it makes a good lighter partner for a yogurt-based dish on the same table.
What Should You Serve It With, and How Long Does It Keep?
Treat it as a meze, and put it on the table with the rest of the cold dishes. Our Turkish summer mezze and cold dishes has plenty of company for it. Good partners include:
- Bread: warm pide or a crusty loaf, for scooping.
- Grilled fish: the tart, garlicky yogurt cuts through the oil of a grilled fillet.
- Köfte and grilled meat: it plays the same role a cacık does beside kebabs.
- Other cold plates: beans, roasted peppers and stuffed grape leaves all sit well beside it.
As for keeping it, the salad is best the day it is made. Cover it and refrigerate; it will hold for a day, maybe two, but the garlic strengthens and the yogurt slowly releases liquid. Stir before serving, and add the olive oil drizzle and nuts at the last minute.
Round out the table: Look through our nuts and seeds for the walnuts, then add a few prepared meze and deli salads so the spread feels complete.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does semizotu taste like?
Semizotu tastes green, lightly sour and a little salty, with a juicy crunch when raw and a soft, slightly slick texture when cooked. Many people compare the tartness to watercress or lemony spinach. In a yogurt salad, the garlic and cream balance the sourness, so the herb reads as fresh rather than sharp.
Can you eat purslane raw?
Yes. The leaves and tender stems are edible raw and are often tossed into salads. Raw purslane is crunchy and tart, and it can feel a little slippery in the mouth. Blanching for one minute softens that texture, which is why many Turkish cooks briefly cook it before mixing it with yogurt.
Is verdolagas the same as semizotu?
Yes. Verdolagas is the Spanish name for purslane, and semizotu is the Turkish name for the same plant. You can use bunches from a Mexican grocer in this recipe. The cuisines treat it differently, though: Mexican cooks often simmer it in sauce, while Turkish cooks favor yogurt, olive oil or a quick sauté.
Can I use Greek yogurt for semizotu salatası?
Yes, plain full-fat Greek yogurt is thick enough and works well. If your brand is loose, drain it in a cheesecloth-lined sieve over a bowl for about 30 minutes before mixing. Avoid low-fat or flavored yogurts, which thin out quickly once the salted purslane releases a little moisture.
Why is my purslane salad watery?
Water usually comes from two sources: purslane that was not squeezed dry after blanching, and yogurt that was too loose. Squeeze the cooked leaves by the handful until they stop dripping, and drain thin yogurt first. Salt also draws moisture, so season at the last minute if you are serving much later.
How long does the salad keep in the fridge?
Plan to eat it the day you make it. Covered and refrigerated, it holds for a day, possibly two, though the garlic gets stronger and the yogurt may release some liquid. Stir before serving, and hold back the olive oil drizzle and any walnuts until the last moment so they stay fresh.