what to do w/mature clover in summer-planting annual plot

I've got a pretty small (several feet square) plot of garden that someone else planted in clover. I want to put in some seeds for a teeny fall harvest (carrots, lettuce, kale, etc.) but don't know what to do with the very established, tall clover. I'm afraid that if I just cut it and plant the seeds amongst the roots the seeds will have to compete with re-growing clover (the starts I planted in spring amongst the young clover did so-so, and some just gave up). But if I pull up the clover, then I probably lose all the nitrogen that would have been released into the soil had I just cut the clover. And if I pull the clover, what do I mulch with? The uprooted clover plants? When do I mulch? Probably not before the seedlings appear, right?

Thanks so much!

I think I would cut the clover a couple inches below the soil surface with a shovel, and mulch with the clover tops. They should be lesser competitors after that kind of abuse.

That's not coming from experience though; just my gut instinct.