Every Friday, I try to highlight some of my favorite things here on the Meltingpot and being that I’m an Aquarius and a little bit quirky, my favorite things can range from a good book to a new hair product. But this week, my current crush is on mustard greens. That’s right, a very underappreciated green leafy vegetable is my new obsession.
Let’s just get it out there that mustard greens are delicious. They have a spicy, peppery, taste and they bring a whole new level of zing to soups, stews and as a side dish to meats. Real talk, I could eat a plate of mustard greens, sautéed with garlic and garnished with scallions for a meal by themselves.
I do have vague memories of eating mustard greens as a child, but never by themselves. They were just part of a cornucopia of random greens that would show up in a pot on Sunday evenings, often mixed with collard and turnip greens and served with a hunk of cornbread. I could never identity which green was which. Recently, however, I had a delicious pickled green and pork soup at a Chinese restaurant and found out that the pickled green, was mustard. That’s what started my renewed interest in this vegetable from my past.
HEALTHY HABIT
I’ve been able to find what my mother calls, slick leaf mustards at Asian grocery stores around Philadelphia and I was elated to find organic curly leaf mustards at my local Whole Foods last week. After reading up on all of the AMAZING health benefits that mustards have – from super high levels of vitamin K to cancer fighting antioxidants – I have now decided to include mustard greens in my regularly weekly meal planning.
DIVERSE AND DELICIOUS
Tonight we’re having mustards as a side dish to with fried fish. I also found this Asian inspired soup recipe I want to try. As you can probably guess, the other reason I have fallen hard for mustards, is that they are truly a meltingpot vegetable. Black Americans, Chinese people, Indian people. Everybody lays claim to mustards, and rightfully so. Mustards were first cultivated in India some 5,000 years ago and today are utilized in so many different ethnic cuisines. I’m just surprised more people aren’t talking about mustards. Apparently, 2016 was the year collard greens were “discovered” by mainstream America, so maybe mustards will soon have their day in the sun too. Maybe Ms. Meltingpot will be the one to get mustards trending. #MsMeltingpotLovesMustards
In the meantime, who has a favorite mustard green recipe or story for me? I’m totally listening and taking notes. And go…
Peace!
