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Saturday, July 5, 2008

Kohlrabi Loses Its Bad Reputation: Kohlrabi and Apple Slaw



I will try anything once, if it is served to me. What I won't do is go out of my way to cook the unfamiliar, unless I have read or heard some compelling reason to do so. Which is why having a CSA is great because it forces me to try things that I might otherwise avoid. Take this weeks haul, which included kohlrabi, my case in point.

I have seen this light green martian-looking bulb with leaves attached, at the supermarket and elsewhere but as far as I was concerned it could just stay there. You see I associated it with a group of very old ladies who lived in my old apartment building on 54th Street. Our floor always had a rather stale cabbage like smell and in my mind, kohlrabi was the offender.

So when kohlrabi showed up last Tuesday I figured it might be destined for the compost heap. After a few members picked up their shares, I then realized that I had to do something with it since everyone was turning to me for kohlrabi advice.

I turned to the internet and discovered that kohlrabi need not be so cabbagey and unpleasant. It could be transformed into a light summer salad, which I might actually enjoy eating.

I found the recipe for Kohlrabi/Apple Slaw here. At the last moment, I decided to grate up a whole batch of it for our July 4th BBQ. I can't say that Izzy was wild about it but I thought it made a decent slaw contribution to our meal. It is definitely light and refreshing. If any more kohlrabi comes my way, I might consider making this again or venturing into the kohlrabi unknown.

3 comments:

Alanna Kellogg said...

Good for you, not letting yourself get stymied by an unfamiliar vegetable!

Anonymous said...

We eat kohlrabi on a regular basis. I peel it, slice it, and grind a little salt and pepper on it, and it makes the perfect crudite appetizer to eat while finalizing the last of the meal preparations. It is crunchy and juicy and simply satisfying.
I say: Long live the Kohlrabi!

InGenius Festival - Voices from the Writers' Forum said...

Hi there. You don't know me, but we are members of the same CSA so I too was introduced to kohlrabi this past week. I peeled and grated it and then sauteed it olive oil with some onion (also from Farmer Rich). Added a little salt and pepper and it was done. Very yummy. But this recipe looks good too so I'm going to set aside in case our farmer gives us more...