Tatsoi as the New Spinach

Here's the post I meant to run under this photo, on Friday, although I'm glad I added a little color to the previous one after seeing people on Twitter during the Golden Globes last night dissing Michael Pollan's nephew for both looking too much like his dad and seeming too unserious. And what I meant to say was: At least in my neighborhood, tatsoi is the new spinach. As a friend I ran into at our Greenmarket exclaimed, "You do anything with it!" We both buy from Brian Gajeski, who has been keeping our part of Manhattan verdant through two winters now. (He also trucks in mesclun, broccoli rabe, Swiss chard and other greens not usually seen in the gray season here.) And his bunches are much bigger than what you usually find in Asian markets. The abundance has made me kinda wasteful, meaning I use only the tops, tossed into a salad or simply braised for a side dish. Last night we had them sliced and mixed with leftover duck breast on pasta. But the best treatment so far has been wilted fast with a little garlic in sesame oil and tamari. And tatsoi has one huge advantage over its rival. Since it's virtually grit-free, you only need to rinse, not repeat.

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