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Kohlrabi


Meaghan

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I got some bastardly [the low class cabbage and turnip got nasty] bulbs of Kohlrabi Saturday at Courthouse. I'm totally enamored by the unique crunch— radishes, turnips, jicama, parsnips, rutabaga, wacky roots from Japan— so the minute my teeth sunk into the kohlrabi's cool earthy flesh, I was sold. Aside from enjoying peeled raw, I suppose one might turnaround some decent slaw or could cook 'em up with curry and spice (cauliflower :) ). But wait. How would they be buttery or spiked with something bacony? Or pickled perhaps, shredded to death in a green papaya fashion. Not that I’ll really follow through, but go ahead and tell me what you would do.

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I got some bastardly [the low class cabbage and turnip got nasty] bulbs of Kohlrabi Saturday at Courthouse. I'm totally enamored by the unique crunch— radishes, turnips, jicama, parsnips, rutabaga, wacky roots from Japan— so the minute my teeth sunk into the kohlrabi's cool earthy flesh, I was sold. Aside from enjoying peeled raw, I suppose one might turnaround some decent slaw or could cook 'em up with curry and spice (cauliflower :) ). But wait. How would they be buttery or spiked with something bacony? Or pickled perhaps, shredded to death in a green papaya fashion. Not that I’ll really follow through, but go ahead and tell me what you would do.
I would beg Brendan Cox for the recipe he uses for the Kohlrabi slaw he serves with his duck confit.
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Throw away the hard, cordlike stalks, but not the leaves. If they're in good shape, you can treat them like any leafy green. I used my first set this past week in soup and parboiled and chopped, as a bed in a cooked salad.

I also read that kohlrabi is very good shredded as a quick stir-fry with garlic and ginger.

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for kohlrabi, the way i've always done it is this: peel and cut into fairly thin slices, roughly 1/4 inch thick. if you have about 2-3 softball sized ones, put about a teaspoon of oil in a pot, heat on medum, add about 1/2 tsp each of black mustard seeds and cumin seeds. wait till seeds pop. add 1/4-1/2tsp turmeric powder to oil (depending on taste) and then add kohlrabi pieces. stir, add salt to taste, and cook till kohlrabi is done--it should be slighty translucent and soft, not at all crunchy. if you'd like you can add a jalapeno or serrano pepper while it's cooking too.

I'm sorry that this isnt a proper recipe, it's one of those things i've done so long i've gotten to the point where i never measure anything.

I hope you like it!

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Marcella Hazan has a soup recipe. She says the Italian word is a blend of "cabbage" and "turnip" because that's basically what kohlrabi is and it can be treated as such. I'm presuming a gratin would be decent, too.

I've found it's good in slaw and during the most virtuous of my weight-loss days, I've snacked on big, crisp wedges since it's quite filling. Stir-fry. Grated in chicken or tuna salad.

I will never forget something Elizabeth Schneider wrote about kohlrabi since I consulted her book on exotic vegetables eagerly after finally bringing a bunch home for the first time: we always tend to have high expectations for produce we've never tried before. Implicit was the idea that you shouldn't expect it to knock your socks off any more than a stalk of celery might.

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Wow! Thanks for the insight. What I gathered was that once cooked, kohlrabi can have a bit of an artichoke flavor, and raw-it is like cabbage and radish/turnip.

I wanted to use up some sprouting spuds so I made Kohlrabi Potato Soup in the same way I made potato leek soup. Here's a pic of the soup garnished with sauteed chiffonade of tat soi and chopped egg.

2231607068_73938513dd_m.jpg

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OK, my father used to grow these. I thought they were bizarre and not good. What the heck do you do with them, seeing as I would have no idea what to do with a turnip either.

I made slaw with peeled and grated kohlrabi a couple of years ago from a recipe I found somewhere on the Interwebs. It was pretty good. Kind of tasted like broccoli to me.

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kohlrabi is delicious. Treat it like a turnip.

I don't actually care for turnips. I have tried to like kohlrabi, since I first encountered one at my local farmers market. Done all kinds of things with it. They are just tasteless. Which is one of the reasons why I don't join the CSA on offer in my neighborhood. I'm afraid I'll open the box and find a kohlrabi in there. ;)

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That Lancaster link has a section titled "What do I do with kohlrabi" but then they never say what to do! What a letdown.

Choose smaller bulbs; larger ones too fibrous.

Peel it.

Then cube it.

Then steam it.

Then (optional) dill/yogurt sauce it. I like plain, steamed kohlrabi, though, sweet and brocco-hinty.

And don't forget to eat the greens. Stir fry for some Asian flair, incorporate into a green smoothie, whatever floats your chlorophyll boat.

(so many possibilities)

(but then again)

(i'm a fan of all things "k")

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Choose smaller bulbs; larger ones too fibrous.

Peel it.

Then cube it.

Then steam it.

Then (optional) dill/yogurt sauce it. I like plain, steamed kohlrabi, though, sweet and brocco-hinty.

And don't forget to eat the greens. Stir fry for some Asian flair, incorporate into a green smoothie, whatever floats your chlorophyll boat.

(so many possibilities)

(but then again)

(i'm a fan of all things "k")

OK, this sounds like a possibility....lightly steam? Just a few minutes, right?

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Until tender.

Think broccoli.

(which, in my perfect world)

(would overtake thinkgeek)

(with a line of "stalker" clothing)

kohlrabi is great three ways and the taste is quite different in each preparation. Raw and shredded, it is the perfect slaw. Peeled and sliced and sauteed, it tastes like turnip. Cubed and Sauteed with onion and then simmered with water, it is a dead ringer for potato cabbage soup -- but no potatoes or cabbage enter the pot. I think it is an amazing veggie.

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The Time-Life Foods of the World volume The Cooking of Vienna's Empire has a Hungarian recipe for Stuffed Kohlrabies with parsley cream sauce that has always appealed to me, but I've never made the recipe. The recipe is given verbatim, without credit, HERE. Also without the typically gorgeous picture in the Time-Life book. If you have the book, the recipe is on page 120, which I add because of the bizarre and largely useless "index" in this and the rest of the series.

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