Kohlrabi

[bavila]

Just got some kohlrabi in today's CSA box. What could we do with it? Anyone ever cook the greens? How do they compare to other greens for flavor strength and cooking time?

And ain't it cool looking?

[Catherine Iino]

I've never used the leaves, but I love the bulb, or whatever it's called. You can just slice it and eat it raw, with a bit of salt, as a healthy snack. Sometimes I julienne it and make a mustardy dressing like the one for celery remoulade. No need to blanch it first. Enjoy!

[ludja]

Here are some ideas from a very good local farm out here, Maraquita Farms.

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Besides being a great web resource, people that live close enough to the farm can sign up for a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) agreement with them. Chardgirl on eGullet is from Maraquita Farms.

[Chufi]

I really like it in a gratin (either mixed with potatoes or on it's own). Parboil the slices (but don't overcook) and cover with a cheesy bechamel, or just dot with butter, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and bake. Creamyness seems to go really well with it.

Jane Grigson has a recipe in her Vegetable Book for stuffed baked kohlrabi: the bulbs are simmered until half cooked, hollowed out, and filled with a ground meat mixture (she says veal/onion/parsley/lemonrind, but any kind of flavoring would work I think), dotted with butter, baked (with some stock added to the baking dish to prevent drying out).

Edited June 21, 2006 by Chufi (log)

[MollyB]

Kohlrabi is very good roasted. Cut into 1/2-in. cubes, toss with some olive oil, salt, and pepper, then roast until it starts to brown and get a little crispy. (I can't remember how long it takes to cook.) I also like it sauteed in olive oil with some garlic, then tossed with some fresh cilantro when it's done.

[Christopher Haatuft]

Take a front leg of a lamb, salt it and cut it in slices on the bone. Lay it on a perforated tray, with the root in a pan underneath. Steam in oven or on stovetop til the meat is tender. The root shall have taken all the drippings and juices. Pure the root with an immersion blender, add nutmeg or mace, salt, pepper and loads of butter. Eat till you pop.

Or....boil in lambsbroth, add nutmeg, salt and pepper. Puré and whisk in butter. Use with lamb, venison, braised pork belly, bacon, heavy beef dishes.

Add some to the mashed potatoes.

The danes feed the pigs with em..hehe

[rhinopias]

One of my favorites is to pan fry 1/2" cubes for a few mins until brown, then add 1/2 cup of water and cover until done. Uncover until mositure is gone, add good balsamic keep on heat until balsamic glazes. Meanwhile, boil greens in salted water for appx. 2 mins, drain. Serve cubed balsamic glazed bulb on own greens.

[bavila]

I sliced them, unpeeled, and stirfried them with carrots, broccolini, and onion. I also tried some raw, and think I'll peel them next time for raw use.

The greens are still in the fridge, and I plan to add them to some marinara after blanching. I also like the mashed potato idea!

[docsconz]

I glazed some cubed carrots with butter and cinnamon then added cubed kohlrabi towards the end cooking them lightly, tossed with cilantro and served. The carrots were cooked through, but the kohlrabi were still crunchy (though warm) adding a nice textural contrast.

I just ate one raw. I peeled it and cut it up. I used it to dip into hummus. It was a nice light lunch.

[Cronenberg]

The old-fashioned way in Germany:

Dice it, boil it 'al dente' in little water, use the cooking water to make a bechamel sauce, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

[moosnsqrl]

gasp! I can't imagine cooking it. It's SO good raw.

I saw someone hollow and stuff one, then steam the lot once and thought that might not be a bad idea but I've just never been able to bring myself to cook them. I'm probably really missing out but oh well.

[emmawllms]

Hello! I am a new eGullet member and this is my first post...I'm sharing a subscription to my local organic farm's food box program and as a result I'm in possession of two lovely kohlrabi...however, I've never prepared kohlrabi before and would LOVE some ideas, suggestions etc.

Thanks so much!

Emma

Please check out my food blog, www.moderngirlskitchen.com.

[Chufi]

Hi emmawllms and welcome to eGullet!

I love kohlrabi.. raw, sliced thinly in salads, pureed in soup, or sliced and baked in a gratin with cheese.

Look at this thread for more kohlrabi ideas kohlrabi

Edited June 1, 2007 by Chufi (log)

[emmawllms]

Hi emmawllms and welcome to eGullet!

I love kohlrabi.. raw, sliced thinly in slads, pureed in soup, or sliced and baked in a gratin with cheese.

Look at this thread for more kohlrabi ideas  kohlrabi

←

Thank you so much Chufi! I discovered another site that suggested trying the kohlrabi raw, so I enjoyed that today in a salad and it was superb. I have another one so think I'll try one of the ideas on the thread you linked me to -- love the idea of roasting it, stuffing it or au gratin, and I all day I was already toying with the idea of including it in a soup so fingers crossed there will be more kohlrabi in my CSA box this weekend - I think I've found a new favourite!

Emma

www.moderngirlskitchen.com

[andiesenji]

If you have a good recipe for scalloped potatoes, substitute kohlrabi and top it with buttered toasted bread crumbs and a little grated asiago cheese - not too much, you don't want to overpower it.

[Big Bunny]

My favorite use for kohlrabi is a soy-sauce pickle I learned from Florence Lin's vegetarian cookbook. Slice the k. into thin dominos, let it "weep" with salt and sugar, then put in a jar and cover with soy sauce.

This keeps "forever" in the frij, and is a great side dish to anything with rice, especially rice poridge.

BB

[Sararwelch]

The last time I cooked it, I peeled it, cut it into matchsticks and sauteed it with bacon. It was great!

[Sony]

Kohlrabi is wonderful in Bengali fish curries or shrimp curries.

[infernooo]

It's great as a mashed potato substitute too... mash it with milk/cream and lots of butter and salt + pepper. It is slightly sweet but works really well with roast pork.

[Chris Hennes]

I made a kohlrabi stew tonight from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian: the recipe was not very clear about what size pieces to cut the kohlrabi into, but after cooking in liquid for the time specified in the recipe (35 minutes) it was still quite crunchy and not at all soft. What is the general desired texture of cooked kohlrabi? Could this have been right?

[Honkman]

Cooked kohlrabi shouldn't be too crunchy (but also not too soft) but more like good cooked carrots.