Rocket

Every time I've visited Britain in the past and gone to the restaurant, I have always been mystified by the ever-present 'rocket' vegetable on the menu. What is this mysterious leaf vegetable? We certainly did not have it in Canada. While I have known for a long while about the Canadian equivalents of Courgette and Aubergine - Zucchini and Eggplant, Rocket was something I thought I would never find out the Canadian word for. Since starting my course, I have found other weirdly named vegetables. A rutabega is known in Britain as a 'swede,' okra is called 'Lady Fingers' and a Daikon is called a 'mooli.' It's weird that we cook with Daikon at all, but strangely enough, we have cooked Daikon in most of our practicals. I suspect that this is because on a weight to price basis, it is one of the cheapest vegetables. Finally, a few days ago during the salad demonstration, the chef brought out 'rocket' and said it was also known as arugula. Finally, my conundrum has been solved, and I will no longer be scratching my head when I see rocket on a menu.