Seasonal local food recipe No 111: Kohlrabi, potato and spinach gratin

Camel CSA’s weekly veg box customers keep asking: “What’s that pale greenish-white sputnik-like vegetable in the veg boxes? And what do I do with it?”

Kohlrabi are easy to grow, not often seen in the shops and highly underrated. They have the combined taste and texture of radishes and turnips – but are milder, crisper and more juicy.

I love to eat smaller ones raw – just peel and slice them into batons or matchsticks. They can be grated as a crunchy addition to salads, made into a kohlrabi remoulade, or cubed and steamed before dressing with oil and lemon juice. Some people even stuff them! (But I think life’s too short for that.)

This recipe comes with some useful tips on cooking with kohlrabi from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall in the Guardian. He says: “If your kohlrabi still has its green leaves attached, combine them with the spinach in this tasty gratin.”

The spinach could be replaced with some of the Swiss chard we’re getting in Camel CSA’s weekly veg boxes at the moment. Oh – and I used creme fraiche instead of double cream.

Serves 6

Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooking:  35 – 40 minutes

Ingredients
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 knob butter, plus a little more for greasing the dish
2 medium onions (about 600g), halved and finely sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
500g kohlrabi, peeled and cut into 3mm thick rounds
250g potatoes, peeled and cut into 3mm rounds
2 tsp thyme leaves, chopped
200ml double cream
200ml water (or chicken or vegetable stock)
1 big handful baby spinach, or spinach mixed with kohlrabi leaves
1 tbsp parsley, chopped

For the topping
60g fresh breadcrumbs
25g butter, melted
45g cheddar or hard goat’s cheese, grated

Method

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Place a medium-sized frying pan over a medium heat. Add the oil and butter, wait until it foams, then add the sliced onion and a pinch of salt, and sauté for 12 minutes, until soft and starting to take on a little colour.

Throw in the kohlrabi, potatoes and thyme, and season generously with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing the mixture occasionally, for another five minutes.

Pour over the cream and stock, simmer gently until the liquid is reduced by half, stir in the spinach and parsley, then place in a lightly buttered gratin dish, about 30cm x 20cm x 7cm in size, levelling it out with a spatula as you go. Place the gratin dish on a baking tray.

Blitz together the breadcrumbs, butter and cheese in a blender, and sprinkle over the top of the filling. Bake the gratin in a hot oven for about 35-40 minutes, until all golden and bubbling.

Green leafy veg ‘may reduce diabetes risk’

The mounds of Swiss chard picked for our veg boxes this week could help prevent us developing type 2 diabetes, according to the British Medical Journal.

Researchers from Leicester University found that one and a half portions of green leafy vegetables every day could result in a significant 14 per cent risk reduction in getting the disease. You can see the BBC report on their findings here.

Green leafy veg include chard, spinach, cabbage, kale and lettuce – and are all found in abundance in Camel Community Supported Agriculture’s weekly veg boxes at different times of the year.

This week’s share of the harvest