Isn’t this beautiful? This is Chinese Mustard called Gai Choy which we grew last year and let a few plants to go seed. This year we have been delighted to find them growing in all sorts of spots around our yard. They are a cool season crop which means that they sprouted in late summer and are now reaching maturity in early spring. They are gorgeous plants. They can be cooked like spinach or chard when young.
Yesterday I picked a large handful and cooked them for dinner. I diced two pieces of bacon into one inch strips. Cooked those until almost crispy, added the spicy (since our plants are quite mature, they have a spicy flavor) mustard greens until they wilted. Then added a couple of tablespoons of chopped rosemary, a quarter cup of sherry vinegar and a healthy seasoning of salt and pepper. They were delicious!
This is the first year I’ve discovered mustards at the farmers market but I’ve never cooked them. I’ve mixed them in salads and then oohed and ahhed the entire time. Your recipe sounds great. Anything with bacon sounds great. Thank you.
This is the first time I’ve cooked them too. I think last year we just left them growing as ornamentals. I’m definately going to try them again though.
I’m in love with your blog. I just came in from working in our cool spring garden and was soaking up the garden posts. I almost swooned when I found recipes too!