Mizuna Salad With Roasted Cauliflower & Cumin Vinaigrette

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

Ingredients

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
For the Dressing:
  • 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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.

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