There are lots of variations on this quick, healthy salad which uses raw kohlrabi and a crunchy apple.

Serves 4 – as a side dish

Preparation time: 15 minutes (max)
No cooking!

Ingredients
60ml double cream or full-fat yoghurt
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 heaped tsp wholegrain mustard
½ tsp honey
Salt & pepper
1 kohlrabi, peeled and cut into julienne strips (keep the leaves to use another day)
1 crisp apple, cored and diced

Method
Whisk the cream in a bowl or simply place the yoghurt in it. Whisk in the lemon juice, mustard and honey. Season to tast. Then stir in the kohlrabi and apple and serve immediately.

Kohlrabi, potato and spinach gratin + tips on cooking kohl rabi
Kohlrabi, apple and walnut salad

This week everyone will have:
* kohlrabi (Camel CSA)
* cabbage – whole tundra/spring greens (Camel CSA)
* perpetual spinach and swiss chard (Camel CSA)
* salad leaves (Camel CSA)
* radish bunch (Camel CSA)
cauliflower (Growfair, Devon)
potatoes (St Lawrence Farm, Bodmin)

Standard boxes will have extra potatoes plus:
* sprouted mung beans (Mark Norman/Camel CSA)
* curly parsley (Camel CSA)
leeks (Growfair, Cornwall)

* = grown to organic principles

Recipes for kohlrabi + tips on what to do with it

This year Camel CSA’s growers started planting onion sets in early April. Last year it was mid March.

Over the last 12 months we’ve survived some very hostile weather conditions. These prevented us from preparing the ground at times. Some crops failed, others ran out early or went to seed too soon.

Thanks to our professional growers, the broad beans and peas planted under a fleece a month ago are starting to grow well.

Three different types of leeks have been sown. Lettuce and various brassica seedlings, including broccoli and cauliflower, are about to be planted out.

This easy side dish brings out the sweetness of carrots or swede. It’s from BBC GoodFood’s Olive magazine. You need to cut larger carrots and swede into long, thick batons. Use new-season, thinner carrots whole.

Serves: 4
Preparation / cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients
400g carrots, scrubbed or peeled (cut into long, thick batons if necessary)
Or 400g swede, peeled and cut into long, thick batons
1 tbsp honey
15g butter

Method
Simmer the carrots or swede in a large wide pan until just tender, about 15 minutes. Drain off all but a few tbsp of the cooking water then add the honey and butter and season well. Turn the carrots or swede over the heat until glazed and golden.

• More carrot and swede recipes from Camel CSA

This week everyone will be getting:
* salad bags (csa)
* parsley (csa)
leeks (Growfair, Cornwall)
cauliflower (Growfair, Cornwall)
tundra cabbage (Growfair)
carrots (Growfair)
potatoes (Buttons, Michaelstow)

Standard boxes will have extra potatoes plus:
* purple sprouting broccoli (Tom Corbishley, Trevia, Camelford)
* kohl rabi (csa)
* oriental greens (csa)

* = grown to organic principles

Camel CSA’s growers joined forces with the growing team from Trevalon CSA on our vegetable-growing site in north Cornwall to share skills, ideas and challenges.

A big thank you to the Trevalon team – Mark, Rod, Tom, Zulu, Peot and Emma for coming to visit us on one of the last bitterly cold days of our Cornish “spring”. 

In the space of three hours we managed to fork over a couple of our long, narrow growing beds, remove most of the couch grass, spread a topping of compost and sow the first of the onion sets.

We also swapped experiences, ate cake and talked a great deal!

Thanks as well to our own growers – Mark N, Jane, Mike S, Mark M and Charlotte.

It turns out that the latest casualty of the financial crisis in Cyprus may be halloumi cheese. Not withstanding, if you like halloumi this recipe is for you. It uses both the polytunnel-grown radishes and mixed salad in Camel CSA’s veg boxes this week. It’s adapted from a recipe at BBC GoodFood.

Serves: 4
Preparation/cooking time: around 30 minutes

Ingredients
juice of 1½ limes
½ tbsp wholegrain mustard
½ tbsp honey
1½ eating apples, cored and thinly sliced
1 pear, cored and sliced into matchsticks
1½ tbsp olive oil
2 x 250g packs halloumi cheese, each block sliced into three
150g radishes, thinly sliced
2 small carrots, peeled and sliced into matchsticks
50g pecans (or walnuts), roughly chopped
70g mixed salad leaves

Method
To make the dressing, whisk together the lime juice, mustard, honey, oil and some seasoning. Pour half into a large bowl, add the sliced apples and pears, then gently toss everything together so all the fruit is coated. Cover and set aside. The fruit will sit happily now for up to 3 hrs without browning.

When you’re ready to eat, warm a large frying pan over a medium heat. Season the slices of halloumi with pepper (it doesn’t need any salt as it’s quite a salty cheese), then fry in batches for 2-3 mins on each side until the cheese is golden brown and beginning to crisp. You can keep the halloumi warm in a low oven while you fry the rest.

At the last minute, scoop the apples and pears out of the dressing (it will have gone watery with the moisture of the fruit, so discard), and layer up on a large platter with the radishes, carrot sticks, pecans or walnuts and mixed salad leaves. Top with the halloumi slices, then drizzle over the remaining dressing.

Everyone’s seasonal vegetable boxes have the following:
* bunched radishes (Camel CSA)
* mixed salad – rocket, endive, assorted lettuce  (Camel CSA)
* swiss chard/perpetual spinach (Camel CSA)
potatoes (Button, Michaelstow)
leeks (Growfair, Cornwall)
swede (Growfair, Cornwall)
carrots (Growfair)

Standard boxes will have extra potatoes plus:
* kohl rabi (Camel CSA)
* parsley (Camel CSA)
cabbage (Growfair, Cornwall)

* = grown to organic principles

Camel CSA’s growing team have been digging up the winter brassicas (watch this RHS video) that have yielded so much for us over the last few months.

Top of the list are the three types of kale we’ve been growing this past winter. They are: –

• common curly kale
• gourmet cavolo nero (Tuscan kale)
• sweet-tasting red Russian kale

We’re about to start off next winter’s crop in modules.

Our new doorstep delivery scheme is boosting Camel CSA’s box numbers. This Friday our professional growers and the volunteer picking and packing team will be preparing a record 48 boxes. Amazing!

Everyone’s boxes will have:
* salad bags (Camel CSA)
* stir-fry oriental greens –  mibuna/mizuna (Camel CSA)
* swiss chard/perpetual spinach (Camel CSA)
* sprouted mung beans (Mark Norman/Camel CSA)
potatoes (Button, Michaelstow)
leeks (Growfair, Cornwall)
cauliflower (Growfair, Cornwall)

Standard boxes will have extra potatoes plus:
* kohl rabi (Camel CSA)
swede (Growfair, Cornwall)
carrots (Growfair)

* = grown to organic principles

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