What to do with a Kohlrabi
I am now a huge fan of kohlrabi, and all it took was two recipes, and my first kohlrabi to do it.
Mine was green, although quite often they are purple
For those who don’t know what a Kohlrabi is, from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s article in the Guardian:
It has about it the texture and crunch of a radish and something of the taste of a mild turnip, cauliflower or broccoli stem, making it a tasty addition to summer salads and stir-fries.
The article has three different recipes for using Kohlrabi, but I didn’t try any of them instead I opted to half it, and make two salads. One with raw kohlrabi and the other where it had been cooked.
First I made Too Many Chefs‘ Kohlrabi and Quinoa Salad where you cook the Kohlrabi and Quinoa in one pot.
Kohlrabi and Quinoa Salad
I didn’t make any changes to the recipe, and it was wonderful. I think the red pepper really made it though, it gave it a sweetness and added moisture to the salad. I love mushrooms, so I am not complaining but I don’t feel that they really added much to the salad. So I don’t think you would be risking much if you decided to leave them out.
It was the first time I had cooked with Quinoa too (last weekend I really was in a branching out kind of mood) and I have to admit I like it a lot more than cous cous. Quinoa when cooked plumps up a fair bit more than cous cous so it feels like you are eating a proper meal.
The recipe used cumin as the main spice so I thought that it would work quite well with some quick grilled chicken. The chicken was marinaded for a few hours in a couple of tablespoons of low fat natural yoghurt, 1 teaspoon of cumin, and 1 teaspoon of tumeric.
A simple salad with tandoori chicken
The second recipe I used was a really basic one (that came in my veggie box) for Kohlrabi and Carrot salad. This recipe is quite like a light coleslaw without the creaminess. It again uses cumin but this time cumin seeds, so I guess maybe that cumin and kohlrabi go well together!
Kohlrabi and Carrot Salad
We had this is an accompaniment (just like coleslaw, I guess) with hamburgers for dinner last night. All the flavours were quite delicate: cumin, the lemon adds a subdued zing and the kohlrabi and carrot both add crispiness.
I think both of these recipes were really good summer dishes, where as the ones in the Guardian were more typically autumn/wintery. I would love to make both of these recipes again, next time a kohlrabi appears in my box- but then again maybe I should branch out and find some more wonderful recipes.
Please let me know if you find any!
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July 7th, 2009 at 6:41 am
Don’t you love your CSA? Cooking with kohlrabi has been a challenge for me too. I had certainly never tried one before getting our vegetable box. I love this quinoa and kohlrabi recipe – I’ll have to try it. Thanks!
July 7th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
[...] Coffee Muffins Trying to live a healthy life with a very sweet tooth « What to do with a Kohlrabi [...]
January 31st, 2010 at 9:40 am
[...] but enjoyable learning curve. Back then I had never baked a loaf of bread, I didn’t know what to do with a Kohlrabi and I didn’t even now there was any difference between a macaroon and a macaron, let alone [...]