Here’s a newbie gardener mistake to which I’ll admit, guiltily: haphazard planting. It’s true — I planted some vegetables without really thinking it through. You see, one side of the garden was looking woefully empty — we were reserving it for the large, warm-weather crops like tomato, zucchini, and cucumber — and I thought I might as well just stick something there for the interim. I had some three year-old mustard seeds. What I didn’t have was the foresight to imagine what would come of 50 mustard seeds and a long, cool, rainy spring.
We are up to our ears in mustard.
The other day, I was Googling desperately for a solution to our problem of overabundance, and came across a fantastically simple recipe for pickled mustard greens from Saveur magazine. Mustard greens have an assertive, spicy flavor that can take a lot of abuse — in this case, an extended bath in vinegar. This bright, pungent concoction would work really well as a condiment served alongside a rich stir-fry or rice bowl.
Pickled Mustard Greens
From Saveur
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. salt
1⁄4 c white vinegar
1⁄2 lb. Asian mustard greens
3 red or green serrano chiles, split lengthwise
1. In a small saucepan, combine 2 cups water, sugar, salt, and vinegar. Bring to a boil over high heat, then remove from heat. Cool slightly.
2. Using a paring knife, trim stems of washed mustard greens from leaves. Cut stems into 2″ pieces and place in a 1-quart measuring cup. Coarsely chop enough greens to fill the measuring cup when added to stems and packed down gently.
3. Pack stems, leaves, and chiles into a clean glass 1-quart jar. Pour hot liquid onto greens, making sure that the stems are completely submerged. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 days before serving.
Makes 1 quart