Love and Veggies

Thought this was interesting, since I have never had kohlrabi before.  There are probably others in our group who have never had it.
K

Excerpted from Rolling Prairie Cookbook, by Nancy O’Connor.
Kohlrabi can be one of those intimidating vegetables if you haven’t been around it much. It has the look of an organic green Sputnik, with a taste like fresh, crunchy broccoli stems accented by radish. The name kohlrabi comes from the German kohl, meaning cabbage, and rabi, or turnip, and that kind of sums it up.
SIMPLE SOLUTION:  Although these green bulbs look like they were dug up from the earth, the round bulb is a swollen stem that grows above ground. Not a commonly used vegetable in American cuisine, kohlrabi is widely used in Central Europe and Asia. It is still patiently waiting to be discovered in this country.

Handling: If the kohlrabi leaves are still attached to the bulb, trim them and store separately. If the leaves are in good shape – firm and green – they can be cooked but will need to be used within a couple of days. The bulbs should be stored, unwashed, in a plastic bag. They will hold for about a week in the refrigerator. Smaller kohlrabi are the sweetest and most tender. Bulbs much bigger than the size of a tennis ball won’t be as tasty and often have a pithy flesh.

Simple Preparation: Tender, young kohlrabi is delicious eaten raw. Peel the outer skin with a paring knife. Slice, dice, or grate, and add to salads. Use on raw vegetable platters or serve with a creamy dip. Substitute in recipes calling for radishes. Grated kohlrabi can be added to slaw, but lightly salt it first and let stand for several minutes. Squeeze to remove any excess water before adding dressing. Kohlrabi can also be steamed or boiled. For this preparation don’t peel until after they are cooked. Steam or boil until bulbs are tender, peel skin, and season with butter, salt, and pepper, a cheese sauce, or just enjoy plain.

If the leaves attached to the kohlrabi bulb are fresh and green, they can be enjoyed as a cooked green. Wash the leaves and remove the ribs. Blanch in boiling water until just wilted, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain and squeeze excess water from leaves. Chop leaves, then saute in a little olive oil or butter. Season with salt and pepper. Add a splash of vinegar or squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

A bag of baby yellow tomatoes, kolrabi, sweet potatoes, yellow peppers, green leaf lettuce, beets, dumpling squash and arugula was our pick for today.

Our squashes are soooo pretty I don’t want to eat them! I still have our butternut from last week that I plan to make soup with and the recipe is:

Peel, seed and cube butternut squash–set aside

Chop about 1 cup of mushrooms (use a variety for diverse flavor)
3 cloves garlic chopped very fine
1 large onion, diced fine
1 small apple peeled and diced
Put this mixture into a large stock pot and sweat it with a mix of EVOO and butter

Add one bay leaf, salt, pepper and thyme to taste

Add cubed squash and saute until tender

Add about 1 cup-ish of white wine or marsala wine

Simmer for about 30 minutes

Add 1 cup-ish of good low sodium chicken stock or veggie stock, simmer for another 30 minutes

NOW, either use a blender or a hand mixer right in the pot and puree until smooth and creamy. Finish with another big dab of butter.

Serve topped with toasted pecans/walnuts or pistachios. You can also put a dollop of Greek Yogurt or Creme Fraiche or Sour Cream or Quark and then add the nuts.

Serve with salad of Green leaf lettuce, chopped yellow tomatoes and Italian parsley. Top with a tart French Vinegarete

Vin:
In a jar with a lid that is tight fitting (an old mustard jar works GREAT!)
Add 1/3 good balsamic vinegar
2/3 EVOO
1 tsp. French Mustard
salt, pepper and tarragon
using a micro plane, grate 1 clove of garlic (or chop fine…we use our micro planer for LOTS of stuff. They are cheap and useful!)
A dash of good maple syrup (real, not the plastic squeeze bottle kind!) OR local honey
and shake to mix. You can use grainy mustard too OR another kind of vinegar like White Wine, Sherry.

Don’t buy salad dressing but make it yourself! Sub mint leaves and lots of cracked black pepper for a fresh twist. Add some lemon juice, dill and omit vinegar for a Greek sort of flavor. These all make very good marinades for fish, meat or tofu if you have left over.

But, I need to know…what to do with the kolrabi???????

Happy eating!

ps. BTW…we have about 15 bags of tomato sauce in our freezer…storing up for the winter. I need to learn to can and have a recipe in Barbara Kingsolvers “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” book that I should try. The trick is to NOT use any oil at all. They don’t explain why in the book but I know it is because anaerobic bacteria thrive in oil and you could breed tough little germs in your canning if you use oil in the mix.