Tatsoi is a green with many names: tai koo choi, tasai, wu tai cai and rosette bok choy, most of which reflect its Asian roots. The name that gets the best response for Paula Guilbeau of Cumming’s Heirloom Gardens is “spoon lettuce.”
“If I say it’s ‘tatsoi,’ my customers tend to back off, but when I call it spoon lettuce and tell them how mild it is and how it has a similar taste to spinach, then they’re more interested,” Guilbeau told me. On Dec. 17, she’ll be taking tatsoi to the Peachtree Road Farmers Market for its final market of this year.
Guilbeau first met tatsoi in a salad. She liked the taste so much she decided to grow it and has been offering it to her market and community-supported agriculture customers for about four years. She plants seeds in the spring and fall and grows it as a cut-and-come-again crop, clipping the leaves and offering bagfuls to her customers.
“It’s pretty tough. I’ve seen it sit under snow and be fine, so it’s something we can harvest most of the winter. I have better luck in the fall, winter and early spring than in later spring, when the weather can warm up so quickly,” she said.
Tatsoi has become a favorite green in the Guilbeau household. “I treat it like spinach. The other day, I did a quick wilt and then laid it in lasagna. I love it raw in a salad and I love it in soup. I even put some in with my collards,” Guilbeau said.
Allowed to grow to its full potential, tatsoi will form a beautiful rosette of spoon-shaped leaves, just as decorative as any ornamental kale or cabbage. And far more useful.
At local farmers markets
For sale
Vegetables, nuts and fruit: African squash, arugula, Asian greens, beans, beets, broccoli, butternut squash, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, chard, collards, dandelion, escarole, fennel, garlic, hareuki and other turnips, herbs, kale, leeks, lettuce, mache, mizuna, mushrooms, mustard greens, onions, pecans, peppers, potatoes, radishes, radicchio, rutabagas, spinach, sweet potatoes, tomatoes
From local reports
Tatsoi Wilted in Mustard Dressing
Hands on: 10 minutes
Total time: 10 minutes
Serves: 4
4 small tatsoi heads (about 1 pound)
2 medium green onions
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
Cut off tatsoi bases to separate leaves. Rinse thoroughly and spin dry. Mince white part of green onions and thinly slice dark green part.
In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, mustard and salt. Stir in minced whites of green onions and olive oil. Taste for seasoning.
In a small skillet, warm lemon juice mixture over low heat. Add tatsoi leaves and toss to coat. Heat until leaves just begin to wilt, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, add sliced green onion leaves and toss. Serve warm.
Adapted from “Vegetables From Amaranth to Zucchini” by Elizabeth Schneider (William Morrow, $60).
Per serving: 110 calories (percent of calories from fat, 81), 2 grams protein, 4 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 10 grams fat (1 gram saturated), no cholesterol, 224 milligrams sodium.
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