Saturday, April 12, 2014

Kohlrabi

Last year’s CSA boxes introduced me to a few vegetables I’d never tried before.  No surprise there, really, since I’m a little late to the vegetable eating party.  (I spent many years with green beans and lettuce being about the only vegetables I would eat.) 
One of my new experiences was with kohlrabi.  I had never seen or heard of kohlrabi before it showed up in our first CSA box.  I thought it looked more like something out of a sci-fi movie than something off of a farm.  Fortunately, the farm has pictures of the more unusual veggies to help folks like me figure out what in the world we have. 
Once I learned that I was in fact in possession of kohlrabi, and not something left behind by a UFO, I turned to Google.  I learned that kohlrabi is basically in the cabbage family, that it comes in a few different colors (isn’t the purple pretty?), that the leaves are edible and can be treated basically like any other green, and that you’re really only limited by your imagination and culinary preferences when it comes to preparing and serving kohlrabi. 
Garlic and olive oil are my main go-to things in the kitchen.  If in doubt, I tend to sauté it in garlic and olive oil, and maybe add a little Italian seasoning.  I love garlic and olive oil, and most of the time it’s a good fallback plan.   I decided that garlic and olive oil would be my plan for the kohlrabi.
It had a texture very similar to potatoes (or apples) but smelled a lot like cabbage.  Cabbage isn’t my favorite thing, so I decided on a lot of garlic at that point.  Because the texture reminded me of potatoes I decide to go with a sort of home fry approach.  I just fried pieces of it in the olive oil with lots and lots of garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. 
It turned out alright.   It had a little more of a cabbage flavor than I liked, but it was alright. Nick liked it a little better than I did.  We basically agreed that it’s something we can eat when it comes in the CSA box, but not something we’d choose to buy on its own.
We also tried tossing some chopped kohlrabi into vegetable soup.  I didn’t care for it.  I thought it gave the whole soup too strong of a cabbage flavor.  Nick thought it was okay. After that we pretty much stuck to the original home fry way of preparing the kohlrabi.
The greens were no problem.  We seemed to have some sort of greens in pretty much every box, so we just cooked a big pot of whatever greens we had on hand almost every week, or sautéed them and served them in quiche. 
So what about you?  Have you tried kohlrabi?  Do you like it?  What’s your favorite way to prepare it?  Do you think it looks a little sci-fi?

12 comments:

  1. I've not heard of kohlrabi before. I'm not a big fan of cabbage, but I approve of your penchant for garlic and olive oil - that can save a whole range of foods :)
    Sophie
    Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles - A to Z Ghosts
    Fantasy Boys XXX - A to Z Drabblerotic

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  2. Hi Danielle - I quite enjoy kohlrabi, but I enjoy cabbage .. and I can't remember how I cooked it .. so glad your'e enjoying your CSA boxes .. cheers Hilary

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  3. I don't think I have cooked with it. Maybe it would be good in a stew? Sometimes I make a dish we call cabbagey-stiff - basically chopped cabbage, greens, and carrots sautéed in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.- it would work in that.

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  4. Hello, Danielle, An interesting post. I've never heard of CSA before, at least in what it represents. To me, it always stood for Confederate States of America. :) Now,, I see those letters have a completely different meaning. :) I looked it up online just now and discovered it means Community Shared Agriculture. I have a friend who was a member of a food co-op when she lived in Washington State, though. I guess that is about the same? Anyhow your post was quite interesting. Come visit me, if you like. Blabbin' Grammy (at present #772 on the challenge list. The number has changed several times due to people dropping out of the challenge. Best regards to you. Ruby

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  5. Good job of seasoning out the cabbage taste with your stir fry, but I'm with you...I wouldn't buy it on purpose. My recipe for Kohlrabi would be setting it up in a still life and painting that pretty purple bulb and leafy green....then use the green in a salad. Congrats on making it through Week #2. Thanks for your visits and comments on my AtoZ 'fiction from forgotten fotos'.
    Sue at CollectInTexas Gal

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  6. I like most fruits and vegetabls, but I have never tried kohlrabi. I would definitely try it, but like you there are certain vegetables I would not go out of my way to buy. I will buy cabbage occasionally to make Asian inspired stir fries, but cabbage is never high on my list of favorites. My favorite go to vegetables are homegrown romaine loose leave lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, and avocados for making amazing salads. I could eat that combination every day, but avocados are expensive, so I have to restrain this desire.

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  7. I've not ever heard of this either! Now I am intrigued and will look into it! Thanks for trying it out and sharing your experience!!

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  8. I'm the same as Hilary, I enjoy kohlrabi now and again. In England we called it turnip. I also enjoy cabbage very much. Seem to remember a recipe where we cooked it like potato and mashed it with apples.

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  9. I don't think I've ever had kohlrabi.

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  10. This is too funny; I have never heard of kohlrabi but yours and another blog I was checked out today from the challenge mentioned it. Now I'm going to have to see if our local store carries it, just to try a bit of it.

    betty

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  11. Oh different! I've never heard of those and I've been a veggie for most my life now! I love mashed potatoes and cabbage so will have to hunt this down :)

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  12. My dad grows this in his garden. Love to eat it raw by itself!

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