Mustard Greens Stir Fry with Smoked Tempeh, Kimchi & Farro

Who knew there are so many different varieties of mustard greens? When you think about it, I suppose it makes sense because there’s tons of varieties of pretty much any vegetable or fruit you can think of. I’ve tried a few types of mustard greens now; one with frilly leaves, one with flat leaves that were purple on one side, and the one in this recipe that resembles curly kale. I tried the frilly one for the first time last year, and immediately loved the spicy, pungent flavour. Since then, every time I see a new variety at the farmer’s market I just have to try it.

Mustard greens are part of the cruciferous family of vegetables – the same family that broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage belong to. They are also a bitter green vegetable, similar to dandelion, kale, and arugula. Bitter greens stimulate the release of gastric juices and bile, promoting proper digestion. Like many other leafy greens, mustard greens are also incredibly high in Vitamin K1; 1 cup provides somewhere around 920% of your recommended daily intake! Mustard greens are indeed pretty bitter and have a bite to them; if you’ve never tried them and/or don’t like spicy things, start out small. Saute a couple leaves to get introduced to the flavour, or chop it up finely and mix it into a salad. Personally, I enjoy the flavour. I did find this curly variety to be quite a bit spicier than the other varieties I have found, though!

If you can’t find mustard greens, you can use spinach, kale, collard greens, and Swiss chard instead. You also don’t need to use an entire head of garlic, but I definitely encourage it. We love garlic here and put tons in most everything we cook, both raw and cooked. The flavour isn’t as strong when it’s cooked, so don’t worry about smelling like garlic for days after eating this yummy stir fry.

On a side note, I’m currently working on switching my website over to a new platform. It’s proving to be a steep learning curve and fairly time-consuming, so maybe summer wasn’t the best time to begin this project. But it needs to be done! I’m excited to launch it, since it’ll have some awesome features for you like a search bar and a “Print” button for recipes. In the meantime I may not be posting quite as often, but I’ll still be sharing recipes regularly. Hang in there, good things are coming!