I recently received my first organic, UK-grown Japanese veg box delivery from Namayasai who grow their super duper veggies down in Lewes, Sussex. I’ve written a little bit about them here if you want to take a look. In our first veg box we received some Japanese negi (Japanese leeks) and mizuna (mustard greens).

Japanese negi are similar to spring onions, perhaps crossed with a leek and have an ever so slightly sweeter note to them than spring onions. Mizuna leaves are essentially Japanese mustard greens and I thought the two would work really well together in that famously Japanese dish: the potato salad!

You thought that was a joke didn’t you? But actually, potato salad is a really popular dish in Japanese homes, albeit following a slightly different recipe than the super lazy, simple version I’m sharing today. A Japanese potato salad is typically made with mashed potato, crunchy veg like carrots, sometimes chopped boiled egg, and Japanese mayonnaise which is slightly different in flavour to the mayo we’re used to in the UK. My version is probably more familiar with chunks of new potato in a creamy mayonnaise with pops of Japanese onion, hints of mustard flavour from the mizuna greens, and finished off with a generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Ingredients

• About 10 new potatoes chopped into evenly sized chunks
• 2-3 spring onions or 1 Japanese negi
• 2 tbsp finely chopped mizuna leaves or mustard greens
• 3 tbsp Mayonnaise
• Generous squeeze lemon juice (probably about half a lemon)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Boil or steam the new potatoes until done (test with a fork).
2. Meanwhile, stir the chopped spring onions and mustard greens into the mayonnaise. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Stir the potatoes so that they’re evenly covered with mayonnaise and finish by squeezing over the lemon juice. Top tip – use your fingers like a sieve when squeezing the lemon juice so that you catch the pips! Best served chilled.