The Kohlrabi has arrived

Perhaps I should deem this week Unusual Produce week, since I’ve touched on casaba, beets and now, kohlrabi. Late last week in my weekly “what’s in the share” email from our CSA it was made known that this week’s share would include kohlrabi. This not very well known vegetable was one of my initial hesitations in joining a CSA. My CSA fear was that I would end up with a bunch of vegetables I did not know how to cook, or gobs of something that wasn’t my favorite…like kohlrabi. To be fair, before last night I had never, ever tasted kohlrabi and never given much thought to it. If you have never seen kohlrabi: And this is what it looked like once I trimmed the greens: And the inside looked like this: So once I knew the kohlrabi was coming, I started brainstorming ideas on how to use it. Turns out, it is a member of the same family as cabbage so I started reviewing some of my favorite cabbage recipes (a short file, admittedly) and came up with a fantastic use. Since this week’s share also included some beautiful Chinese Cabbage and spring onions, I added the kohlrabi with the cabbage and onions to make a really tasty, “mom can I have another helping” Asian Slaw. My boys rarely eat salads, but both of them had ample helpings of this slaw. It could be the sugar in the dressing, but regardless, I deem this a huge victory…my boys ate kohlrabi and liked it! Note: this recipe makes a bunch, so if you aren’t having a crowd over or taking it to a pot luck, half the recipe! Asian Slaw with Kohlrabi 1 medium head of Chinese cabbage, sliced thin 6 bulbs of kohlrabi, green trimmed and shredded* (or use a small head of regular cabbage) 1 small red bell pepper, shredded* 1 cup of shredded* carrots 1 ½ cups of thinly sliced spring or green onions ½ cup sunflower seeds 1 – 5 ounce package of Soba Noodles (or ramen noodles, without the seasoning packet) Dressing: 1/3 cup cider vinegar 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 tablespoon brown sugar 1/3 cup white sugar 2 tablespoons soy sauce Combine all the vegetables in a very large bowl. Add the noodles and sunflower seeds and toss well. In a microwave safe container, combine the dressing ingredients. Microwave on high for one minute. Stir well and repeat. Pour the hot dressing over the salad and toss very well. Tastes best if the slaw marinates in the dressing for several hours or overnight. Serves 12 *Use your food processor, if you have one, it will make things go much more quickly: SPC
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