TtoE eating the spring flowers

In spring, you can see great swathes of yellow blossoms on the banks of the Edo River that separates Saitama and Chiba Prefectures. The cheery yellow flowers are 菜の花, nanohana, a wild and cultivated cousin of the cabbage family.

Speaking of cabbages, the price has tripled compared to last year. This is due to poor harvests and they go for about 300-400 yen a head. Ouch. Also in the produce section in spring is nanohana. I picked up a bunch with for a mere 50 yen. With buds and flowers, too.

Why buy a green that grows wild? Well, the wild nanohana on the riverbanks attracts a lot of dogwalkers. And I don't want to look suspicious with my cooking shears...

To prepare it, I cut it into 2.5 cm chunks, blanched for a few minutes in boiling water. I dressed it simply with a splash each of ponzu, shoyu, and drizzled some sesame oil. It's both nutritious and appealing for its colour and texture.

Have you tried nanohana in your cooking? How do you prefer to eat it?