In season: mizuna

10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 25. Chef Adam Waller of Bocado. Peachtree Road Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com

Chef demos are held at many farmers markets. Check your local market’s Facebook page or website for information.

FOR SALE

Just coming to market: frisee

Vegetables, fruits and nuts: apples, arugula, Asian greens, beans, beets, cabbage, carrots, chard, chestnuts, collards, cucumbers, eggplant, field peas, garlic, ginger, herbs, kale, lettuce, Malabar spinach, mizuna, muscadines, mushrooms, mustard greens, okra, onions, peppers, popcorn, potatoes, pumpkins, radishes, spaghetti squash, spinach, spring onions, summer squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, turmeric, turnips, winter squash

From local reports

Fans of arugula and greens with a horseradish-like bite will love mizuna, a feathery-leafed member of the mustard family. William Lobb of Stoke Farm grows three varieties of this Asian green.

We caught up with him while he was picking mizuna to bring to the Saturday morning Green Market at Piedmont Park. Stoke Farm is in Bostwick, about an hour and fifteen minutes east of Atlanta on I-20. Bostwick is the home of the last remaining cotton gin in North Georgia.

Lobb’s dad, who had grown up on dairy farms, transferred to Atlanta when Lobb was a toddler. His father bought the 125-acre property as a weekend getaway, and Lobb has been working on the farm since he was 9 years old.

“I studied horticulture at UGA and came home to make vegetable farming my business in 2008,” he said. Lobb now sells at the Piedmont Park market and to restaurant clients. He plans to offer a community-supported agriculture program in the spring, as well.

His dad tends the farm’s 15 acres of sesame seed, and Lobb has 2 acres in vegetables. Right now, he’s growing, among other things, tatsoi, upland cress, lettuce, kale, fennel, white sweet potatoes and “carrots the size of your finger that people just love.”

One of the things Lobb enjoys about selling at the Green Market at Piedmont Park is the wide range of customers. There are plenty of neighborhood shoppers, but there also are people who wander over from the area hotels and end up buying a bunch of carrots to enjoy as they walk in the park or back at their hotel room. “If they try something new with us, then they’re more likely to look for it and support their local farmer back in Birmingham or wherever they’re from,” he said.

He’s been growing mizuna for about four years. He is quick to offer samples to his customer, and finds if they like spicy greens, they are sold on the spot. He sells about 40 bunches a week.

“I find most of our customers come to the farmers market with an open mind. They’re willing to experiment on new things, hoping to find something they’ll like.”

One of mizuna’s selling points is that it can be served raw like any lettuce or arugula, or it can be cooked like mustard greens. Lobb suggests his customers mix it with other lettuces in a salad if they just want a little bit of that peppery bite. And it’s a perfect green to add to sandwiches.

Lobb should have mizuna available through the end of the Green Market’s season in December.

If you decide to try mizuna, take it home and refrigerate it loosely wrapped. If you buy it as a bunch, untie the bundle and loosen the leaves for storage. It should keep for up to a week. If the leaves are large, you may want to trim the bottoms before using, otherwise, just give it a good rinse and spin it dry.

Mizuna and Sausage Salad

6 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 pound chicken-spinach sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices

4 teaspoons honey

4 teaspoons mustard

Salt and pepper

4 ounces mizuna, picked off stem into bite-size pieces, lower stems discarded

2 ounces field lettuce mix

1 cup diced mixed sweet peppers

1 Asian pear, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch chunks

1/4 cup pecans, roughly chopped

1/4 cup shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano

In a medium skillet, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil over medium heat. Add sausage and cook until lightly browned on both sides, about 5 minutes total. Set aside.

While cooking sausage, make dressing. In a small jar, combine remaining 6 tablespoons olive oil, honey and mustard. Put lid on jar and shake vigorously. Taste for seasoning. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine mizuna and field lettuce. Divide dressing between four serving plates, drizzling to have dressing sprinkled across most of the plate. Divide mizuna mixture between plates. Sprinkle with peppers, pear chunks and pecans. Top with shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano and add reserved sausage on the side. Serve immediately. Serves: 4

Per serving: 382 calories (percent of calories from fat, 68), 14 grams protein, 17 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams fiber, 30 grams fat (5 grams saturated), 47 milligrams cholesterol, 473 milligrams sodium.