Sisso Spinach

Sissoo spinach, also known as Brazilian spinach, Sambu or Samba lettuce, is a tropical edible groundcover of the genus Alternanthera  used as a leaf vegetable.

The leaves are crunchy, slightly more so than the temperate climate spinach, and not slimy. Some cultivars are slightly bitter. They require steaming or boiling when eaten in large quantities because of the presence of oxalates.  It is eaten alone as a green or added to other dishes as a spinach substitute.  Brazilians usually eat it raw in salads with oil and or vinegar, tomato, and onion, although the literature recommends cooking it. Sissoo spinach can be added to quiches, pies, curries, dals, pasta sauces, lasagna or added to dishes and stir-fries late in the cooking process as a spinach substitute and to add a nutty flavour.