Continuing along on our journey through the land of weird foods you’ll find in the farmer’s market, this week we’ll taste a green of many names:  mizuna.  Mizuna also goes by the names of Japanese greens, Japanese mustard, and California peppergrass.  Botanically, it is classified as Brassica rapa.  B. rapa is commonly known as “field mustard” or “turnip mustard” and includes cultivars such as tatsoi, napa cabbage, turnips, and rapini.   

When my friend Katie showed up at my door with a bouquet of freshly-sliced mizuna leaves and told me what she’d brought me, I gave her a look of disbelief.  When I plucked a leaf and popped it in my mouth, however, I was pleasantly surprised.  The intricate, delicately shaped leaf had a flavor to match.  
Illustrations courtesy Chuck Groenink

The initial taste was slightly bitter, but it finished with a peppery taste reminiscent of arugula.   Katie told me she thought it was delicious in salads, but after a bit of research, I learned it’s common in all kinds of dishes, especially Japanese cuisine.

It’s popular for a reason – this tiny leaf packs a powerful nutritional punch.  As a green, it’s obviously fat-free and low in calories.  However, it’s high in vitamin C, folic acid, and antioxidants, which are purported to prevent cancer.  All of this nutritional value comes in a package that’s easy to cultivate. 

Mizuna is reknowned for growing well in cold and hot weather.  If you’d like to grow your own, just get some seeds (or buy a package of mesclun mix – mizuna’s often included as an ingredient).  Seeds should germinate in about seven days, and can be sown outdoors as late as May.  Mizuna can be cut back four or five times each season, and will tolerate sun, shade, heat, or frost.  Some gardeners suggest starting a different patch of seeds each month, so that you’ll have a constant supply for the kitchen.

Once you’ve harvested this easy-to-grow-green, the possibilities are pretty much endless.  It can be served in salads, of course:  the Japanese like to serve it with shaved daikon radish.  You can substitute it in dishes calling for arugula or mustard greens, or add it to any dish that’s lacking in vegetables or a bit of flavor. 

Heated, it goes well in Japanese soups or noodle dishes, and I think it would do well as a stand-in for spinach (I’m personally not a fan of the texture of it when it’s cooked).  The dish I made with my mizuna takes advantage of the green’s unique flavor, while blending it with a few other complimentary tastes.  If you’d like to make a vegetarian version, simply leave out the bacon. 

Pasta with Mizuna and Walnuts