Radek Tesár 20. 6. 2025 clock 3 minutes video
Garden weed or superfood? Surcha, also called Portulák, will surprise the taste and nutrient content. In the kitchen you can use it in dozens of ways. And your body will thank you.
The spray, an inconspicuous plant with fleshy leaves, is often considered to be an ordinary weed in gardens. But this tough succulent has much more to offer. Not only lovers of healthy lifestyle. In recent years, Šrucha has been in interest due to its nutritional values and the ability to survive where other crops fail. It contains valuable omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins and minerals and also tastes great. So how do you put it in the menu?
YouTube video, how to consume shruch can be found on the channel Flowers for food – Jana Vlková:
Kitchen Ideas and Tradition
One of the easiest ways to consume shruch is to include her leaves in salads. Thanks to the slightly acidic, fresh taste and crispy structure, it is great as a replacement for a lamb or arugula. You can also add it to Greek salad or use as baking pastries or cream soups. In Turkey and Bulgaria, it is even used in cold yoghurt soups, which will give not only taste but also a portion of vitamins.
But the shrucha greatly understands the IS warm kitchen. When cooking slightly, as well as the edges, which makes it the ideal thickener for soups and sauces. In Mexican cuisine they know it as Verdolagas, and adds to meat and potato stewed recipes. It can also be wrapped and fried in batter, baked into the omelet, or briefly stew with vegetables. Some European restaurants are experimented with an IS Tempura from Srucha or Šruch’s pesto.
Do you want to keep the shruch for winter? There is no problem. It can be ferment or loaded in acetic infusion with spices, similar to cucumbers. Pickled spray is suitable for grilled meat and on the plates. Traditionally, it was also dried and used as a herb for soups in poorer periods. Dried can be grinded and add to dough or mashed as nutritional reinforcement.
Health benefits and practical advice
Surcha is literally a small nutritional treasure. It contains rare plant omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins A, C and E, iron, magnesium and calcium. As a result, it promotes heart, immunity and digestion. Like spinach, it also contains oxalic acid, so people with kidney stones should reduce or boil consumption, thus reducing its content.
The good news is that you can grow spray almost anywhere. All she needs is poor soil, sun and a minimum of water. It is easy to multiply from seeds and cuttings, so if you find it in the garden, just move a few pieces into a pot. Ideally, in the morning when it is the most spicy and least acidic. With regular cutting it grows rapidly, so from several plants you have green vitamins all summer.
The shrucha may look unobtrusive, but with its properties deserves a place not only in the garden, but also in the kitchen. Thanks to easy cultivation, nutritional values and wide range of uses, it becomes a modern superfood, which you will love not only for health but also for its taste and practicality. Next time you want to try something unusual, do not look for exotic far. Maybe the shrucha grows right under your feet and just stretch your hand.
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