Simple Uses for Mizuna

 

When you have a large crop of mizuna from the garden or farmstand, you don't have time to casually include it in complicated recipes or to frantically figure out how to use it up before it goes bad without getting sick of it.  You want to make the most of your harvest and to actually enjoy it.

Here at Plant to Plate, we like to keep things simple!  Here are some of my favorite ways to use or preserve mizuna:

• Make a Simple Salad.  A few ideas for Simple Salad pairings with mizuna are as follows:
• Apples and fennel
• Apples and almonds
• Radishes
• Chicken and carrots
• Peanuts and chives
• Pine nuts and shrimp
• Tatsoi and carrots

• Use it as a Base or Partial Base of an Interesting Salad.  (Wondering why I capitalized those letters?  Read more about Interesting Salads here!)  In particular, mizuna and tatsoi are a great mixed-green Base, as their tastes round each other out nicely.

• Add it to soup.

• Add it to egg dishes like omelets and quiches.

• Add it to pasta dishes, both stovetop and baked.

• Add it to salmon dishes, both stovetop and baked.

• Add it to chicken dishes, both stovetop and baked.

• Add it to smoothies.

• Sauté it with radishes and sesame oil.

• Sauté it with mushrooms and sesame oil.

• Sauté it with ginger and shiso.

• Sauté it with garlic and ginger or wild ginger.

• Sauté it with garlic and either lemon juice, lime juice, or lemon balm.

• Sauté it with shrimp and pine nuts.

• Bake it with potatoes and garlic.

• Add it to mashed potatoes.  Add mizuna to the pot just after boiling when making mashed potatoes.

• Add it to a bowl with chickpeas along with quinoa and/or buckwheat.  Add feta cheese to the bowl as well if desired.

• Dry or dehydrate it for later use.  Mizuna can be dried or dehydrated in a similar way to most other leafy greens and herbs.  Later, it can be powdered and added to smoothies or used as a thickener for soups and baked goods.  This is a good option if you're limited on freezer space as many of us gardeners are!

• Blanch and freeze it to save it for later.  It is best to blanch mizuna before freezing for optimal quality and nutrient retention.  Learn more about blanching here.

Further Reading

Growing mizuna?  Check out these quick facts like its best growing conditions, companion plants, and expected yields.

Mizuna is also featured in these articles:

• Quick Facts: Growing Mizuna
• The Interesting Salad Protocol: How to Build an Interesting Salad
• How to Preserve Your Harvest: Drying and Dehydrating

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