Food 10 Nov 2007 11:15 pm
LoMoCoMo: kohlrabi
Still coughing, still irritated in more ways than one. I ate a handful of peanuts today and realized too late that a peanut is basically a quasi-explosive Sharp Little Crumbs Delivery Device. So much for that. It’s still soup season for me.
I’ve been growing kohlrabi, which has been fun. They look very alien. But what on earth do you do with them? First, I think, you wait for them to go through a couple of good frosts; the kohlrabi I harvested today were much tastier than those I harvested a few weeks ago. And second, you turn them into soup. I made a sort of minestrone with kohlrabi today.
First I sauteed one medium-small yellow onion in butter and olive oil, then added four garlic cloves. Then I pureed a 28-ounce can of tomatoes and dumped that in with about a cup of good chicken stock and a little water. While that heated up, I diced half of a peeled softball-sized kohlrabi into 3/8″ cubes. That simmered gently for a while as I futzed around with seasonings: lots of fresh thyme, a little fresh rosemary, a finely minced dried morel, a small pinch of celery seed that I smashed up with mortar and pestle, and a good solid pinch from the “Italian seasonings” bottle. (Why do we even have an “Italian seasonings” bottle when we have all its ingredients in other bottles?) A splash of vodka brought out the tomato flavors, and a little balsamic vinegar balanced the sweetness of the kohlrabi. When the kohlrabi seemed to me to be done, I rummaged through the freezer and pantry, adding a handful of green beans, a couple handfuls of green peas, and a can of navy beans, rinsed. When everything was heated through, I served it up with some fresh hominy bread from the market.
Normally I would have started with a mirepoix. But note that there’s no carrot in this — that would have been way too sweet for me.
The kohlrabi never really became soft, exactly, but it stopped being tough and crunchy — the phrase that came to mind was “tender-crisp”. It’s cabbagey, but it’s also sweet in a way that reminds me (weirdly enough) of fresh green peas. I like it a lot. Not bad for an evening when I’d been feeling too run-down and uninspired to cook. Not bad at all.
on 11 Nov 2007 at 11:19 am 1.cissa said …
Kohlrabi is also excellent roasted, byitself or with other roasted winter veg.
And it is REALLY weird-looking!
(Also, the leaves can be used rather like kale.)
on 11 Nov 2007 at 11:49 am 2.Cam Sculpin said …
Good to know! I’ll give that a try with the next one.
I’ve used the leaves, but they’re really tough. A nice addition to gumbo, though, where they can be stewed until they loosen up.
on 12 Nov 2007 at 7:28 pm 3.Maggie said …
kohlrabi is one of my favorite childhood vegetables, ever! Its crunchiness is delicious! I would not recommend trying to cook it - it does not want to be cooked. I discard the tops, peel it and eat it raw, like you would an apple. The bigger kohlrabi might be tougher, so it’s best to eat them when they are small, about the size of your fist. If you like munching on carrots, kohlrabi is the much awesomer alternative.