Kelly Rossiter
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There's a guy at the farmers' market who I visit every week because he almost always has something new on offer. His booth is small and he doesn't sell a lot of things each week, but there's always a new type of green leafy vegetable. He sees me coming now and is ready to point out the interesting thing to try.
Over the summer he has introduced me to stinging nettles, peacock kale, more kinds of thyme and basil than I knew existed and a whole host of different types of greens. In the spring when you ask him what to do with a particular thing he says "Tea," in the fall he answers "stews." He always encourages me to rip off a leaf of something to try. This week he had a couple of different types of Japanese greens and I bought something called mizuna. Now, I have wondered occasionally if the market guys are pulling my leg when it comes to the names of some of the things they are selling. After my trip to the market I was reading Eating for England by Nigel Slater and he talks about finding mizuna at his local market. Sorry I doubted you, market guys.
It turns out that mizuna is a slightly bitter tasting green. I used it in a mixed green salad, in a vegetable stew and in my chickpeas on toast recipe. You could pretty much use it anywhere you would use swiss chard or kale, or even arugula. It has a leaf that looks like a dandelion and it really stands out in a salad.
Difficulty Level: Easy
Related posts:
Try a New Vegetable: Stinging Nettle
Try a New Vegetable: Salsify
Try a New Vegetable: Celeriac
Try a New Vegetable: Jerusalem Artichokes
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