When It Bears Fruit, Don’t Pick the Greens

I know we are supposed to be writing about a find from a market setting, but the vegetable/green that I have found both delicious and new this week is poke weed. I didn't find this at a market, as a matter of fact, it grows wild. People at the market will not sell it because if it is not cooked properly, it is highly poisonous. We found some on our farm last week and decided to prepare it today. Poke weed is a very common looking plant, about a foot tall with green ovular shaped leaves. The leaves are a bit shiny and vibrant green, very much like raw spinach. They emit an odor (once picked) that is not exactly pleasant, but it is unlike anything I have smelled before, so describing it is not easy. It is a mild odor, kind of like grass that has been highly fertilized. The mature poke weed plants grow purple berries on them that if consumed, “will make you sicker than a dog”, as per my father. I had never heard of such a green before, and was skeptical to try it. It could kill me after all. 

I have never picked so many leaves in my life. 

“Just get the young tender leaves, those are all that are edible”, my father said. 

The young tender leaves are classified so by the plant on which they are growing. If the plant is more than 1 foot tall, the leaves are either too tough to boil properly, or they are too ripe and poisonous. The really mature plants will bear fruit. Dark purple, shiny berries will sprout from the plant. These, were the untouchables. With a little bit of research, I found that “the berries are sometimes used to make jelly and pie”, though my family never has. After picking 3 industrial sized trash bags full of poke leaves, we brought them home and began to prepare them. First, the leaves must be picked through to make sure they are all whole (not eaten through or torn). We then washed each individual leaf very thoroughly. The next step in the preparation is to bring the leaves to a vigorous boil in a pot, drain in a colander and squeezing with a paper towel to get rid of any excess water. Repeat the process two more times, each time making sure that it comes to a vigorous boil. After the third boiling, drain one final time and pour white vinegar or pepper sauce (a handful of chili petines and vinegar) over it, salt and pepper to taste. 

The taste of Poke Sallet (the result of the boiling and preparation), is only described as a very mild spinach with a hint of bitterness like turnip greens (I think this is because of the vinegar. It has the same texture as boiled spinach, but with a lighter flavor. In fact, if there was no vinegar, I am not sure it would taste like anything at all. I had the thought, if it tastes like spinach, why not just prepare spinach? My family’s reply was: “poke is free”. 

Overall, I would eat Poke Sallet again, but the preparation process of it is a bit too long and complicated for me to want to prepare, but it is very good, and definitely a do-over when I have time to prepare it!