A mustard greens salad was in order after a recent trip to the farmers market. I hit the jackpot with a medley of mustard greens ranging from the spicy red mustards to the milder peppery mizuna.
They make for a beautiful dish with different colors, shapes, and flavors. The apple cider-dijon adds just enough sweetness to balance the salad out.
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MUSTARD GREENS SALAD INGREDIENTS
- Mustard Greens
- Mizuna or arugula
- Apples
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Olive Oil
- Dijon Mustard
- Kosher Salt
- Pepper
SALAD INSTRUCTIONS
No real instructions here. Simply mix the liquid ingredients in a bowl to make the dressing. Toss the greens and sliced apples and serve.
SALAD CONSIDERATIONS
Mustard greens have a bit of bite to them so mix them in the dressing well to tame things. Otherwise, you'll experience the dreaded bitter beer face when tyring to enjoy this salad.
Granny Smith apples are perfect for this recipe. Tart, crisp and sweet they balance out the bitterness.
Wash the greens well to get rid of any debris and dirt. You don't want to bite into grainy greens.
What do Asian mustard greens taste like?
There were three types of mustard greens in the medley I had each with a distinct taste.
Green mustards are pretty common and similar to your standard mustards grown domestically. They are bitter and slightly pungent, but not over the top in terms of heat levels.
Red mustards are beautiful with big red leaves. They are very pungent; if you get the wrong bunch it could be like eating a spoonful of wasabi! I'm talking nose burning, forehead sweating, eyes watery as if you put too much wasabi on your sushi.
I only use red mustards for salads as I prefer them raw. As soon as you cook them, they lose both their beautiful red hue and their spicy bite. You may be thinking losing the spiciness is a good thing. I won't argue that, but I will say the flavor is distinct and adds quite a bit of character to a dish.
So rather than eliminating the spiciness, figure out ways to make it work for you, which is what I did in this salad recipe. Mixing it with milder greens and balancing it against a sweeter dressing does just the trick.
Mizuna mustards are very similar to arugula in terms of flavor. They're mild but peppery and much sweeter than typical green mustards and the red ones. They are also smaller arugula or even a frisee lettuce. They can be eaten as-is with stalks (stalks are relatively sweet) intact, which makes for a good contrast in texture to the leafier greens in the salad.
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Ingredients
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 bunches of mustard greens red or green or both, stems removed and leaves chopped
- 1 bunch of mizuna greens or arugula
- 2 Granny Smith apples peeled and sliced
- Kosher salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Mix vinaigrette ingredients in a mixing bowl and set aside
- Place greens and sliced apples in a large mixing bowl. Add the vinaigrette and toss well.
Tina Kahwaty
Monday 29th of May 2023
This salad was fantastic! Exactly what we were looking for… fresh, healthy and flavorful! We picked greens from our backyard containers, chopped walnuts and used a red instead of green apple because it was on hand. I think green apple may be even better with the tart element, but I will definitely make this again.