Purple Mizuna and Potatoes Recipe

Colorful. Delicious. Healthy. Easy. This recipe checks all the boxes for a quick, delicious dish. What’s even better is that this can be enjoyed hot as a side dish or cold as a salad. It’s a genius recipe all the way around.

I grow my own mizuna and it’s an easy green to grow. Not much bothers it and it’s very versatile. I love it in salads, stir-frys, soups, and just sauteed with a little olive oil. There are quite a few varieties of mizuna but purple mizuna is my favorite not only because it’s colorful but because the purple stems are also packed full of anthocyanins, a powerful antioxidant. This particular variety is Mizuna Beni Houshi from Baker’s Creek Heirloom Seeds, one of my favorite seed companies.

Isn’t it gorgeous? Thanks to autumn and therefore frost moving into our area, I just harvested the last of my mizuna for the season and I must say it was quite a hefty harvest. The other beauty of mizuna is it keeps pretty well in the fridge and doesn’t immediately wilt as some greens do.

All this recipe involves is chopped mizuna, boiled potatoes and garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. I let the heat from the potatoes wilt the mizuna and then toss it all together. If you don’t have a large bowl with a tight-fitting lid, a pan with a lid or even a makeshift lid of aluminum foil will work just fine. All you need is a few minutes of steam time to bring this all together.

Purple Mizuna and Potatoes Recipe

• 8 small potatoes, preferably red and/or gold, scrubbed and cut in half
• 1-2 large cloves garlic, peeled and smashed (optional)
• 2-3 cups chopped purple mizuna
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

• Place potatoes and garlic in a medium-size saucepan and cover by at least 2 inches with cold water
• Bring to a boil and then reduce to a gentle simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, just until the potatoes are fork tender
• While potatoes are cooking, chop the mizuna and place in a dish or pan
• When potatoes are done cooking, use a slotted spoon and pile the hot potatoes and garlic on top of the mizuna
• Add olive oil, salt, and pepper but do not stir
• Cover and let sit for about 10 minutes
• Remove cover and toss well
• Serve immediately or refrigerate for a few hours to serve as a chilled salad.

Tip: When I make this to serve solely as a chilled salad, I only let the whole dish steam for a few minutes. This leaves a little crunch to the mizuna. Also, a teaspoon or two of freshly-squeezed lemon juice really brightens this up when served as a salad.

Isn’t that crazy easy? We love this both hot and chilled so I usually make a big batch to enjoy both ways.

Wondering what to make with mizuna? Now you know just one of the ways you can use it. Enjoy!