This is from Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi’s book Jerusalem. It is crunchy and refreshing. I added some chopped celery to make the salad go further but it would also be easy to scale down the dressing ingredients to suit the amount of kohlrabi you have. For those of you who live local to Wadebridge, sumac can be bought at Elixir Health Foods at the top of Molesworth Street.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
750g kohlrabi
80g Greek yoghurt
70g soured cream
50g thick double cream
1 small garlic clove, crushed
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp finely shredded fresh mint
1 tsp dried mint
20 g baby watercress
1/4 tsp sumac
salt and pepper
Method
Peel the kohlrabi, cut into 1.5 cm dice and put in a large mixing bowl. Put the yoghurt, soured cream, double cream, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil in a medium bowl. Add 1/4 tsp salt and a healthy grind of pepper and whisk well. Add the dressing to the kohlrabi, followed by the fresh and dried mint and half the watercress. Gently stir and place on a serving dish. Dot the remaining watercress on top and sprinkle with the sumac.
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
I was amused to come across the WTF, CSA section in the Huffington Post (thanks to Rupert Dunn).
The idea is that when you shout “WTF?” into your weekly veg box Huffington can tell you what on earth to do with a glut of basil, or aubergine fatigue, or a particularly tricky vegetable like the kohlrabi we’ve got in Camel CSA’s small boxes this week.
Now I don’t see the point of cooking kohlrabi (although there are some perfectly nice-sounding recipes). I prefer to eat it raw as it’s deliciously crunchy and juicy. Just make sure you peel off the tough skin before sticking your teeth in.
This take on the famous Waldorf salad is from Riverford Organic.
If you have just one kohlrabi, this salad works for two people – simply divide the amounts by three.
Serves: 6
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
3 kohlrabi, peeled + cut into small segments
2 crisp, red-skinned apples, cored + diced
2 little gem lettuces, shredded (or mixed salad leaves)
a little lemon juice
a handful of watercress (optional)
75g walnuts, lightly toasted + broken into pieces
For the walnut dressing
1 tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp sugar
½ tsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp light olive oil
2 tbsp walnut oil
a pinch each of celery salt, salt + pepper
Method
Combine the kohl rabi, apples and little gem lettuces in a serving bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent browning. Add the watercress, if using, and the toasted walnuts.
Whisk together all the ingredients for the dressing. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well.
Camel CSA’s weekly veg box members 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.
If you have just one kohl rabi, you could make this for two people (or for four as a side dish) simply by dividing the amounts by three.
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.
