We had a tofu stir-fry for tea. It was made with several perennial vegetables including one I hadn't tried before - horseradish leaves. I had to hack back some weeds to find my horseradish plant but it seemed to have survived quite well.
Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) is a vigorous long-lived plant and (as I have now found!) it is well worth growing for its leaves as well as its root (used in horseradish sauce). The leaves used raw give a fiery kick to salads but can also be cooked.
I nibbled a leaf whilst harvesting. It was very mustardy. Once cooked the leaves were much milder with a good flavour - a sweetish taste I thought but there were so many different flavours in this dish that I'm not too sure! If you grow horseradish try some cooked leaves and see what you think.
Tofu Stir-fry with Horseradish Greens
Serves 4
Serve with boiled rice
Ingredients
block of tofu (mine was 396g)
For marinade:
4 tblsp light soy sauce
1 tblsp lemon juice
1 tblsp white wine vinegar
1 tblsp maple syrup
4 bulbs of green garlic, chopped finely
3 cm piece of fresh ginger, grated
For rest of dish:
the tops of 4 green garlic plants chopped
1 cup of chopped baby broad beans
1 cup of chopped horseradish leaves
1 cup of chopped Caucasian spinach leaves
(Could substitute spinach. I included some Good King Henry leaves too.)
a handful of flaked almonds
Sesame oil
Method
- Place the tofu on a board and press as much liquid out of it as you can (I just did this with my hand).
- Cut the block into 1-2 cm cubes and place in a dish.
- Mix the ingredients for the marinade together and pour over the tofu.
- Place in a refrigerator for at least 30 minutes turning the tofu in the marinade occasionally.
- In a frying pan heat about 3 tblsp sesame oil over a medium high heat and fry the tofu for a few minutes, turning the cubes a few times, until they begin to turn golden brown, adding more oil if needed. Transfer to a dish and keep warm.
- Add more oil to the pan and fry the chopped garlic stems for 3 minutes.
- Add the chopped broad beans and daylily buds and cook for 3 minutes.
- Add the chopped greens and cook for two minutes more.
- Mix the tofu into the other ingredients in the pan, transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with the flaked almonds.
- Serve with boiled rice.
I was a bit nervous of serving up this dish as I wasn't sure if a whole cup of chopped horseradish greens might be overpowering. But it was fine; everyone seemed to like the finished result and I'm looking forward to using horseradish leaves again.
N.B. I sell a range of perennial vegetable plants on my website. 
