 Kohlrabi-Apple Slaw (Photo: Alanna Kellogg, ) |
Last year鈥檚 CSA experience marked the first time I鈥檇 laid eyes on a kohlrabi, let alone had to figure out how to cook it. It鈥檚 oddly shaped, somewhere between the size of a tennis ball and a softball with long, leafy tentacles鈥攊t鈥檚 kind of odd all around. But once you get past its looks, the vegetable actually is pretty cool, with crunch similar to a not-quite-ripe pear and a flavor on the taste continuum between tart and sweet.
, the searchable database I mentioned in , has a great explanation for which parts of this cabbage-family vegetable you can eat: 鈥淏oth the leaves and swollen underground stem are edible,
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specially the stem which can be green, white, or purple. Its flavor is milder than a turnip鈥檚. If young and tender they may be eaten raw, very thinly sliced.鈥 Local Harvest also suggests adding it to salad and stir fry, or snacking on it with cheese.
To be perfectly honest, I don鈥檛 remember how we used up last year鈥檚 kohlrabi (we got green ones, not the beautiful purple varietal). This year, we made a refreshing (pictured up top) from the site , whose tagline 鈥淰eggie Inspiration from Asparagus to Zucchini鈥 really hits the mark. The slaw was, in a word, awesome. It only requires eight ingredients total, many of which likely already stock your kitchen shelves.
The real key here, we discovered, was to use a mandolin to cut up the kohlrabi and apple into thin matchsticks. You can prep ahead of time, but wait on the apple until just before adding the dressing (the lemon juice in it prevents browning). We made ours a day ahead; the vegetable and fruit both stayed crunchy and delicious. It was a tasty, refreshing addition to a summer BBQ.
Here鈥檚 the link to the slaw again, plus a few other recipe ideas for kohlrabi. We haven鈥檛 tried them yet, but they all look great:
, A Veggie Venture
, A Veggie Venture
, The New York Times
, The New York Times
,
Next time you get to take home this alien-looking vegetable in your CSA share, be not afraid. Instead, embark on a new culinary adventure with it. Your stomach won鈥檛 be sorry. Next week: cabbage and a recipe from .