{"id":91409,"date":"2026-06-22T10:59:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T16:59:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=91409"},"modified":"2026-06-22T10:59:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T16:59:05","slug":"cooking-with-mustard-recipes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/cooking-with-mustard-recipes\/","title":{"rendered":"Cooking with mustard: From lamb to vinaigrette to kadhi"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Mustard
Mustard gets its heat only when crushed and mixed with liquid. And heat mellows mustard’s sharpness, turning spicy flavors into something rich and nutty when cooked. Photo: Getty Images.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of my brothers, Marc, lives overseas and is fond of cooking what the French call a \u201cgigot\u201d (leg of lamb) for Sunday dinners. I\u2019m always amazed how much Dijon mustard Marc slathers all over the gigot before roasting it in his ancient, but marvelous and always-on, AGA oven. You\u2019d think the little lamb would come out tasting like a hot dog.<\/p>\n

But, not at all. Somehow, that mustard (and its flavorings of smashed garlic, rosemary, honey \u2014 from Marc\u2019s own hives \u2014 black pepper and olive oil) mellows into a transcendently delicious sauce, none of which \u2014 not a ghost of which \u2014 will be found on the serving platter at the meal\u2019s end.<\/p>\n

Cooking with mustard: How to use this ancient ingredient<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Mustard, a member of the cabbage family, is one of the more ancient of food flavorings. The plant\u2019s seeds come in white (rendering as yellow), brown and black, and contain enzymes and other compounds that, when crushed and put in the presence of a liquid (commonly water, vinegar or wine), release piquant and volatile esters.<\/p>\n

Indeed, the English word \u201cmustard\u201d derives from the Latin \u201cmustum ardens,\u201d to indicate how ground mustard seeds are soaked with unfermented grape juice \u2014 the proper term for which is \u201cmust\u201d \u2014\u00a0 and which means \u201cburning must.\u201d<\/p>\n

To counter that edge, mustard makers temper the crushed seeds\u2019 fire with sweeteners and other flavorings, or with time. Anyone with a jar of mustard that\u2019s six months over its \u201cconsume by\u201d date knows that it is a shadow of its earlier self.<\/p>\n

Heat (as with Marc\u2019s gigot and the recipes here) also mollifies mustard\u2019s own \u201cheat.\u201d Indeed, a commonplace in Indian cooking is to fry mustard seeds in a small amount of oil or ghee<\/a> in order to turn the seeds mild and make them into nutty wee polka dots.<\/p>\n

Mustard seeds certainly are wee. However, their mother plant, a leafy green of the Brassica or Sinapis genus, isn\u2019t. The loose and leafy greens of both brown and black mustard grow four to six feet.<\/p>\n

Here is the beautiful King James version of the gospel of Mark 4:30-32<\/a> that describes how the wee seed becomes the large plant, all a parable for the Kingdom of Heaven: \u201cAnd he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

How mustard helps vinaigrettes come together<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Mustard paste performs a key role in the making of vinaigrettes, those mixes of oil, vinegar and flavorings that become salad dressings<\/a>, marinades or sauces<\/a>. In addition to contributing flavors and tastes, mustard very importantly acts as an emulsifier, helping disperse and suspend the oil\u2019s molecules in the vinegar.<\/p>\n

Without an emulsifier, any vinaigrette risks \u201cbreaking\u201d (or separating into its constituent parts) straight away. To avoid disintegration and the harm that it brings (pooling vinegar and separated-out oil that breaks down greens), you\u2019d need to consume the salad immediately after mixing a vinaigrette. Immediately is not practical and, anyway, you could not store the new vinaigrette in the refrigerator for even a few minutes without it separating.<\/p>\n

Other emulsifiers for salad dressings include mayonnaise, honey and egg yolk, although in its raw state, this latter emulsifier may pose a health risk to some eaters. Some vinaigrettes use more than one emulsifier, as does the recipe here.<\/p>\n

For salad dressings, most cooks have their favored ratio of vinegar to oil, as well as their favorite type of oil or vinegar (depending on each pantry\u2019s hierarchy for either), their preferred method for combining all the ingredients and\u2014not the least\u2014what flavorings they add to the vinaigrette to distinguish it.<\/p>\n

The recipe for vinaigrette here uses a very common ratio of 3:1, oil to vinegar.<\/p>\n

Cooking with mustard seeds: Small ingredient, big flavor<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Those little yellow \u201cBBs\u201d that you see at the bottom of a jar of cucumber pickles are mustard seeds. (Larger \u201cBBs\u201d are most likely coriander seeds.) White (or yellow), sometimes brown, mustard seeds are common in pickles of various vegetables in Western cooking. They figure in the recipe here.<\/p>\n

Black mustard seeds, as I noted above, are common in South Asian and Indian cooking. You\u2019ll find black mustard seeds, fried in oil or ghee, which is long-cooked clarified butter, in many Indian sauces, chutneys, curries \u00a0and dals. They function in the recipe here as a flavoring in Kadhi, a filling but refreshing soup based in yogurt<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Roast Boneless Leg of Lamb<\/strong>\u2028<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Adapted by Bill St. John from Patricia Wells at foodandwine.com and thomasfarms.com. Serves 6.<\/p>\n

\"Marinading
Marinating a leg of lamb with mustard, among other slatherings, adds layers of flavor to the finished dish and its sauce. Photo by Bill St. John, for UCHealth<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ingredients<\/strong>\u2028<\/strong><\/h3>\n