Kohlrabi is so refreshing and crunchy when it's fresh, I eat it like an apple after I peel the top layer of skin. I like to incorporate it into quinoa salads with beats, peas, nuts, berries and a lemony vinaigrette. I can envision it in tabboulehs, panzanellas, even tatzikis. It's mild bitterness is so pleasant, I would substitute it for cucumbers in many applications.
Two things:
1. I like to roast bite-sized chunks at high temperature (450-500) in a cast iron pan with just salt pepper and olive oil. I let them go about 20 min then stir them around and go another 20 or so until they are soft on the inside with a few brown crispy sides where they were contacting the pan.
2. Kohlrabi can have relatively thick fibrous skin. Make sure that you peel it deeply enough to get rid the course fibers. You can usually tell when you have peeled enough when you get to an even color and your knife slices freely (I don't suggest using a vegetable peeler because they don't cut deeply enough so you will have to go over it a few times). Also, the top is always more tender than the bottom so you may need to peel more deeply near the root end.
I have never tried kohlrabi, but there's a recipe in the Ottolenghi Jerusalem book for a raw kohlrabi salad I want to try. It's peeled, dice kohlrabi with a yogurt/olive oil/lemon juice dressing.
Kohlrabi carpaccio is hard to beat, because it's open to so many different interpretations. Start by slicing the kohlrabi quite thin and laying it in a circular pattern. Drizzle olive oil on top and sprinkle with salt and pepper. You can then add cheese, fresh herbs (thyme is lovely),other veggies (beets and radishes work really well), etc. The possibilities are endless.
9 Comments
1. I like to roast bite-sized chunks at high temperature (450-500) in a cast iron pan with just salt pepper and olive oil. I let them go about 20 min then stir them around and go another 20 or so until they are soft on the inside with a few brown crispy sides where they were contacting the pan.
2. Kohlrabi can have relatively thick fibrous skin. Make sure that you peel it deeply enough to get rid the course fibers. You can usually tell when you have peeled enough when you get to an even color and your knife slices freely (I don't suggest using a vegetable peeler because they don't cut deeply enough so you will have to go over it a few times). Also, the top is always more tender than the bottom so you may need to peel more deeply near the root end.
http://food52.com/hotline/15387-can-you-recommend-any-kohlrabi-recipes
http://www.marthastewart.com/354688/kohlrabi-chips
http://food52.com/recipes/search?q=kohlrabi