Mustard Greens Salad with Apples and Pecans (or Walnuts)

This easy mustard greens salad, full of color and crunch, is especially good in the fall and winter, but you can enjoy it any time you can get your hands on fresh mustard greens (the domestic or Chinese variety). It goes with just about any kind of meal.

Raw mustard greens alone would be very intense in a salad, but in combination with tender baby greens, sweet apples, carrots, and pecans (or walnuts) their peppery bite is quite appealing.

Ingredients for mustard greens salad

• Carrots (2 medium)
• Apples (2 medium, a crisp and sweet variety;
  a variation in this recipe calls for 1 apple and 1 pear)
• Red onion (1 medium; you’ll need half)
• Mustard greens (domestic or Chinese; you’ll need 4 to 6 leaves)
• Mixed baby greens (3 to 4 ounces)
• Pecans or walnuts (1/2 cup, toasted)
• Bottled French dressing
• Freshly ground pepper

Introducing mustard greens

Leafy mustard greens are members of the brassica family, the group of vegetables that includes cabbage, broccoli, kale, and cauliflower.

The flavor of mustard greens has been described as pungent or peppery; it’s also occasionally characterized it as sharp, like horseradish. Like many greens that have a bite to them, they mellow quite a bit with light cooking.

Mustard greens don’t need to be stemmed, which makes them easy to work with. The stem is just a bit crunchier (in a good way) than the leaves. After trimming away the stem, the remaining leaf and stem can be chopped together, just like you would the leaves of romaine lettuce.

It’s fair call mustard greens a superfood vegetable. They’re a great source of Vitamins C and K, and the mineral copper. They also provide a modest yet noteworthy amount of the B vitamins and several other minerals. Here’s a complete nutritional profile.

Learn lots more in our Guide to Mustard Greens.

Recipe is from Wild About Greens by Nava Atlas. Photos by Hannah Kaminsky, BittersweetBlog.com.

Explore more …

• Indian-Inspired Mustard Greens with Spinach
• Roasted Eggplant Curry with Mustard Greens or Spinach
• Citrus-Braised Mustard Greens with Apples & Nuts
• Braised Mustard Greens with Mushrooms

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Yield: 4 to 6

Mustard Greens Salad with Apples and Pecans (or Walnuts)

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This easy mustard greens salad, full of color and crunch, is especially good in the fall and winter, but you can enjoy it any time you can get your hands on fresh mustard greens.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal
• 2 medium crisp, sweet apples, cored and diced (or use 1 apple and 1 pear)
• 1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced, optional
• 4 to 6 mustard greens leaves (domestic or Chinese), well rinsed, dried, and very thinly shredded
• 3 to 4 ounces mixed baby greens
• 1/2 cup toasted pecans or walnuts
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• Bottled French dressing, as needed

Instructions

1. Combine all the ingredients except the French dressing in a serving bowl. Toss together well. 
2. Serve at once; pass around the dressing for everyone to use as they’d like.

Here are lots more plant-forward salads & sides.