Mizuna Salad With Roasted Cauliflower & Cumin Vinaigrette
The inspiration for this recipe was pretty simple. We sold out of everything at the farmers market except for a few lonely bags of mizuna. It was still a very successful market for us and Taylor and I high-fived as we drove away. It was quite the contrast to last year when we bought lottery tickets on our drive home from the first market! Thank god things are looking up!
It was great to be back in Hood River for our Thursday market. We knew we had been missed over the winter when many of our customers greeted us with hugs. The feeling was obviously mutual and we were thrilled so many people came out to the market. I love our little community and it’s amazing to grow food for all of the wonderful people in our town. We are so lucky to live here.
We celebrated our success at the market by cooking up the very few leftovers we had. Obviously people weren’t standing in line to buy mizuna and I’m going to do my best to change that. This season I want to encourage people to experiment with produce they aren’t very familiar with. I’m sure some of you have enjoyed mizuna for years. However, I’m assuming this Japanese green is new territory for many people.
If you haven’t had the pleasure of trying mizuna I think you will be pleasantly surprised. It’s got a little bit of a bite but is still mellow enough to eat raw. Recently we’ve been tossing it on sandwiches, in pasta, and on pizza. This recipe is a new favorite.
The ingredients in this salad work really well together. There is a bit of crunch, touch of sweetness and a hint of spice with every bite. I hope you all enjoy this meal as much as we do. If you have trouble finding mizuna at your local farmers market or grocery store you can substitute with arugula. This meal tastes best with your favorite beer and good music playing in the background.
Enjoy!
Mizuna Salad with Roasted Cauliflower & Cumin Vinaigrette
Prep Time: 15minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes Serves: 4
For the Salad:- 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
- 1 small head of cauliflower, cut into florets
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas (if canned, drained and rinsed)
- 2 Tablespoon grapeseed oil (or oil of choice)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 5 cups mizuna
- 1 small shallot, minced
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons honey
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Pinch of fine sea salt
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Toss the cauliflower florets and chickpeas with oil, cumin and salt. Place on a prepared baking sheet and roast in the oven until tender and lightly browned. About 20-25 minutes. Toss veggies halfway.
- While veggies roast cook your quinoa. Combine 3/4 cup of quinoa with 1 1/2 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until quinoa has absorbed all the liquid and can easily be fluffed with a fork. About 12-15 minutes.
- Prepare the dressing by whisking all the ingredients together until smooth. This works best with an immersion blender. Taste test and adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Once veggies are done roasting remove them from the oven and toss with cooked quinoa. Add the mizuna to the warm veggies and toss until it wilts down a bit. Stir in raisins and drizzle with the vinaigrette. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Notes
*Use this recipe as a guide. *Always adjust measurements and ingredients as necessary. *Taste test as you. *Cooking times may vary depending on your stove and oven.
I’ve never had mizuna before, I’ll have to keep my eye out for it next time I”m at the farmer’s market. it sounds like my type of vegetable! Your farmers market stand looks so great, you guys have so many delicious looking vegetables! The roasted cauliflower looks amazing 🙂
I’m intrigued! I always love trying new produce. I’ll keep a look out at my farmers market for it. Ps. congrats on your success at the market! I love reading about your farm and I’m so glad things are looking up for you. Cheers.
– Brooke
Yay mizuna! We grew it last year and I fell in love with those slightly spicy leaves. Love that you added the raisins to balance it out, and roasted cauli is always always good!
I’m sure you’ll have people running for your mizuna after this post. I love your mission to connect with the community and help them discover new produce and ways to easily incorporate them into everyday meals. I think you do it well. I have a similar mission as a holistic health coach in training, minus the growing-your-own-produce part, unfortunately. 😉
I’m so happy to hear your farmers market was a success!
I’ve never even heard of mizuna so I would be intimidated by it too, but now that I see it in this salad with that delicious dressing, I’m dying for some!! Yum!
This looks like a perfect summer dinner! I don’t know that I’ve ever seen mizuna, but if I do see it – now I’ll know how to use it. I will likely use arugula/baby kale to try this out. Thank you for the inspiration!!!!!
I have never heard of mizuna before, and you have me so curious! Based on your description, I can’t wait to try it. Congrats on selling out of everything else at your first farmer’s market! I remember your lottery ticket story from last year, and I”m so glad it’s a little different this season 🙂 You’re inspiring me to try new produce, even from afar!
My mizuna is just now coming up. Glad to have recipes for harvest time besides adding to a lettuce salad.
This dish looks great, I’ll be on the lookout to find some mizuna at our farmers market!
Congrats on selling out, I’m sure that’s an incredibly gratifying feeling!
LOVE every recipe you post here, I’m not sure if there’s ever been a recipe I haven’t pinned!! 🙂
Heya Andrea and other Food Lover – I’ve never had Mizuna. Just in case I can’t find it here, can rocket salad (aka arugula) be a viable replacement. From the descriptions I’ve read they both have a peppery taste..
Yep! I mentioned replacing it with arugula above! Enjoy and let me know how you like this!
This looks super yummy and perfect for this warm weather we’re having!
That looks so healthy and delicious! I’ve never heard of minuza before, but now I must try it.
I finally made this salad last night (with arugula) and it was so delicious. My husband ended up having 3 helpings, so we barely have any leftovers. I think that means it’s a hit.
I appreciate your coverage of this vegetable. I recently received mizuna seed from baker creek as a freebie and was trying to justify giving up a foot or two of tried and true crops in my limited garden space to give it a whirl. Your recipes have given me the inspiration to Go for it.